My good friend Matthew went to the NYC premiere and had a personal chat with screenwriter Philippa Boyens afterward. He had the chance to talk with her about the intense changes to Faramir. According to his report, Philippa "had some interesting things to say on the above -- basically saying that Faramir's character is completely static in the books, and thus wouldn't translate well filmically. She wanted to extend his character to give him more of a journey, and also seemed to imply that it would seem incongruous were Faramir immediately sea-green incorruptible; whereas all other Men in the film (even Aragorn) definitely have to wrestle with their conscience to a greater or lesser extent."Now this makes some sense to me. Perhaps this harsher Faramir will have the opportunity to grow and change during the third film. Perhaps he will show some of the charity and wisdom that makes Éowyn fall in love with him. So again I am reminded that this is a very different medium. It is not a novel, so it cannot succeed where a novel would have. It is ill-advised to judge a movie adaptation such as this as one would judge a book. They are just horses of different colors.
Article here: GreenBooks.TheOneRing.net™ | Out on a Limb | Movie Review - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers