girlofprey

My twix is making my teeth hurt. Possibly this is a sign to cut down on the sweets and coke. Hmm.

Anyway. I finally rewatched Pirates of the Caribbean. Okay, I can still see why I didn't take too much notice of him the first time around. His part is still not very huge, and he does do the 'tough Commodore' thing more often than not - and what with the film's pro-pirates/pro-Will-Turner's-opinions stance, it does take a little time and perspective shifting to remember that hey, he is just doing his job. As he thinks it will best be done. And protecting them all against the actual pirates, like Barbossa and his crew. But even so, he's still a bunch more interesting than Will and Elizabeth. There's still Jack and Barbossa to distract me, though. I think actually knowing what a Commodore did back then is quite handy for sympathising with him - it's still easier to identify with the Boy, or Girl, or Rebel, than someone so historically placed. I think fanon!Norrington - including just making him a POV character - and garnering some knowledge about that from fic is what contributed to my sudden infatuation with him, more than anything. And

ironicduchess and

whatho, of course.

BUT - my feelings for him from pre-DMC and during DMC remain the same. And I did notice a bunch more lovely details in the film than the first time around. My favourites include: telling Governor Swann to get down to his office during the first fight - and that it was an order; his shocked, hopeful (doomed) smile in the deleted scene, when Elizabeth tells him her acceptance of his proposal has nothing to do with going after Will; and his lovely, indecisive face when Jack jumps off the wall, and he doesn't know what to do (BECAUSE OF THE LOVE!). However, I don't seem to have a scene I'm sure I heard about, which made me fall slightly in love with him on hearing - when Jack is going over the plan to capture Barbossa, and says something about reefs and how they'll be alright as long as the helmsman is any good, and Norrington says 'I shall be at the helm myself'. I assumed it was deleted, but it's not on my disk. Help please? Or am I making it up?

Anyway. He is not quite the Norrington I love from fic, but enough of him is there for me to giggle and laugh and squee. Also I had forgotten how AMAZING Jack is. So it's all good :)

And Barbossa. My desire for Barbossa/Norrington has somewhat gone away, having been reaquainted with his actual nastiness. But I still quite like it, because Norrington is all conflicted over duty and honour and personal desires, and Barbossa is completely not, and probably wouldn't hesitate to get kinky. So hah. Sort of.

And I have made an attempt to rally some thoughts on Dead Man's Chest into some order. Okay. Bear with me. Mostly these are based on and in answer to various reviews I can't entirely remember at the moment, so I am doing my best. Yes.

I still think Will is mad. Possibly it is Orlando Bloom's 'acting' technique, but - mad. Clinically insane. In need of a nice warm blanket and a cup of cocoa. Just thought I'd make that entirely clear.

People have been saying things about how the character's were slightly out-of-character in various ways. While I agree with some points, I do not necessarily with others. Though this could again be me being the eternal ~~shallow~~ optimist, and explaining everything in a way that suits myself.

I do agree that Jack was made into the clown, and it was quite bad, and hurt the character. No more mind games he always won - no more plans. And falling down on the Pearl - what was that about? Not to mention all the initial jokes I just thought fell FLAT. But - people have said things about him having no direction, and not knowing what he was doing, and that it was a waste of the character. And I agree, but I think it was more deliberate than just bad writing. There was that whole thing about the compass not pointing anywhere, and Jack 'not knowing what he wants' - it's canon, people. People have suggested that it's because the Pearl is all he wants, and that's a lovely idea - and throws up the conundrum of what you actually do with freedom, once you have it. Also the possibly suicidal notion of Jack not necessarily wanting to get away from Davy - because he doesn't know what he's doing with his life, now he's "free".

There's also the part about him calling the Black Pearl 'only a ship', and how out of character it was - but I didn't read it as just that. Jack sounded depressed, hopeless, as though he clearly realised it wasn't just a ship, but he had no choice, he had to leave it, so there was no point being overdramatic (the one thing he's not affectedly dramatic about). Also, having rewatched COTBP today, it recalls the 'they did what was right for them' line - while Jack wants the Black Pearl, and wants freedom, he doesn't always think he'll get it, and doesn't get massively angry when it's taken away. In a way, he can be quite resigned to not having it - which may feed into the whole 'not knowing what to do once he's got it' thing.

Anyway - tangent aside - yes, Jack was directionless in DMC, but it was actually a plot point and theme of the film - which says to me that it's something they're going to completely turn around in the finale. Something they're going to have to, to tie everything up. And then we'll get the real Jack. I just hope they do it right, and well. Johnny Depp has not let me down yet, though.

And then there's the Commodore. Norrington. James. People have said they felt let down, because he was such an interesting character in the first film, and they've kind of wasted that potential and made him two-dimensional. Which is ironic, because I read somewhere - in one of my film mags, I think - that the writers/producers heard from fans that they though Jack and the gang had a too two-dimensional foil in the first film, so they were trying to flesh him out in this one. While it does worry me that the creators see him as a "foil", I suppose you can pick your own version of events. I loved DMC Norrington. I still think they could have done more with him, but hey, it's Jack, ~~Orlando and Keira~~ Will and Elizabeth's film.

Once again, I thought it made the most sense as what it is, the first of a two-part arc, and as a lead on from the first film. There he ended torn between duty and honour, between needing to arrest Jack and respecting him. Which probably continued on the chase. Then, for me, there's the hurricane - and an attempt to quash his reluctance by going completely the other way, or just trying really, really hard to ignore them. Overcompensating, either way. And it failed, and he was ruined. The Visual Guide suggests he was thrown out of the navy 'for his stupidity', and then turned to drink, but that makes me angry, so I ignore it. I prefer him just not being able to cope with his failure, and his failure to even completely want to succeed anymore.

And then there's the film. Contrary to some opinions, I don't think he was 'ruined' - he was still snarky, still up for a fight, still smart. In fact, if the whole thing was his following Beckett's orders, he was completely on the ball, down to nonchalantly following Elizabeth on board when she randomly turned up. And he was canonically smashed, most of the time - constantly post-hangover, bitter, clearly (mostly) over his feelings for Elizabeth though still smarting from it, and he still managed to fit in a bunch of jibes, at her and Jack, and to figure them out, time and again. How I love the scene where he points out to Elizabeth that she doesn't know how Will got on the Dutchman in the first place. And when he's in the longboat, looking at the jar of dirt and then just looks at Jack - heart. He was much more bitter and reckless than the first film, which is a departure yes, but he wasn't ruined - not by a long shot. And so the other characters didn't make a big deal over his fall from grace. They did have their own facing a century of servitude/the gallows to worry about. And we didn't really want the Norrington pity party, did we?

And then there's giving the heart to the East India Trading Company. That was quite bad of him. But what was it for? To get back his position, his job, his social standing - his idea of himself. In his own words, his own mind, 'redemption'. Or at least, it's the familiar signs of that life he's desperately clinging to - in a way that slightly smacks of denial. The logical conclusion to this for me - in the second of the two-parter - is for him to get it all back, become "Commodore Norrington" again, and realise it doesn't mean anything. Or not anymore. It's slightly post-lapsarian - you can't go back to how you used to think. At which point he'd assumedly realise what did matter, and KICK SOME EIC ASS. Before joining up with Jack and saiing into the sunset. This is his downward swing - he's due for a return. Once again, I just hope they do it right, and well.

I have, of course, been known to expect far too much of fandoms. So I just live in the hope and await POTC3 eagerly. And read fic in the meantime. Besides, push comes to shove, we'll always have the first film, and fic. And selective memory.

That is all. Tia Dalma still rules. She should make Norrington tea. And possibly sex.

Ahem. I was off sick today. In that 'tired and coughing and not in the mood'. Probably not so much tomorrow. Boo.