[Restorer]

Boromir inherited that bitterness," says Noble. "It's what led Boromir to try to steal the Ring in the first film"

I didn't really get that as a prime motivation in either the book or the film. If it had been, his big rivalry would have been with Aragorn, while actually you can see his respect and admiration for Aragorn growing all along. Although, as Tolkien said, they had not yet become rivals in the wars of Gondor.

I see Boromir as being primarily motivated by a desperate desire to defend his people, not personal ambition. Although there is an element of that there also, which of course the Ring plays on beautifully.

That's the big difference between Boromir and Faramir, who doesn't have that intense desire to shine in the eyes of others. Faramir's desire to help his people is unmixed.

[HairOfTheDog]

His motivations were mixed. I think his resentment about the lack of permanent status of the stewards was "real".... but I would call it "righteously indignant". His motives were not corrupt, his understanding of what he was dealing with was. He couldn't grasp the unseen. He saw the ring as a weapon, not intrinsically evil. He saw the ring as an inanimate tool, which it really isn't. But his respect for Aragorn did grow, because he was a man, and could see the worth in Aragorn. He just honestly thought he knew better. The temptation of the ring cuts through every heart, and Boromir's heart just had the most fertile ground to plant the seeds of doubt. That is how I see him. :~D