What did you think of Drinian?

[MountainFireflower]

I liked VDT for the most part, but one of the things that bugged me most was how they decided to portray Drinian. His actor was fine, but it was how his character was developed that bothered me most (imo). In the book, I saw Drinian as more of a noble sort of character, ready to stay by Caspian's side to the very end. In the movie, he seemed to be more of a rough and tough captain who was afraid of what might happen beyond uncharted waters. (Again, this is just my opinion.)

My brother turned to me halfway in and said, "Drinian is annoying. He was different in the book." My brother is a new Narnia fan and had just read the books a few days before seeing the movie. He has more of an objective perspective on these things, so I'm inclined to agree with him. Do you think Drinian was portrayed accurately? If not, why do you think they chose to portray his character the way they did? How could they have done it differently?

[Shastafan]

Hm, I never really thought of Drinian's protayal. I don't think he was afraid of what lied ahead, but he was very cautious of each step that needed to be taken, just like a normal captain would. I thought he was well done, and I have to agree he reminded me of a rough and tough captain who had sailed more than once. Caspian had no experience of sailing, so it makes sense that Drinian would be telling him what to do. But Drinian wasn't as important as he was in the book. We get to watch plenty of him, but he's not truely in the spotlight like the main characters were. I believe Gary Sweet did a great job at playing Drinian, and even if it's true that Drinian isn't quite the same as he was in the book, I honestly felt pleased with him.

[icarus]

Overall, in the grand scheme of things, i was fairly happy with Drinian. Sure he was pretty much nothing like he was in the book, both in terms of his appearance and his personality, but within the context of the movie i feel they did pretty well with him given the circumstances.

Gary Sweet's performance gave Drinian a sufficient amount of character and personality to make him believable as a real person, even with the limited screentime, and although he had no character-arc to speak of, i thought it was better that he had none rather than have one that was drastically underdeveloped (as with Rhince/Gael for example).

[waggawerewolf27]

I wasn't at all sure I liked Gary Sweet as much as the BBC VDT Drinian, who smiled more, had a slightly rogueish way about him, and who certainly got Eustace to be helpful. I thought Gary Sweet played a very reliable and no-nonsense sort of captain, who established the chain of command, with Caspian at its head, fairly early, and who therefore did not need to grouse that there were too many people trying to run the ship as in the BBC VDT, or who didn't like to 'take advice from landsmen', according to the book.

I also thought that Rhince (and Gael) were there, so that Walden did not need to deal with the Ramandu Island mutiny. Without going into much of a discussion, all Caspian had to do was to tell Drinian to tell Rhince of his misgivings.

[icarus]

Apparently they did film the mutiny scene. Tony Nixon has spoken often about it on his Facebook page. Apparently it was one of the few scenes where he had lines, but like alot of his material it ended up on the cutting room floor. One of the main reasons he wasn't credited as Rynlf on the final movie was because all the scenes that referenced him by that name had been cut out and so they couldn't credit him as such. I would also assume that the axing of the mutiny scene was one of the reasons why Mirko Grillini ended up being credited simply as "Telmarine Sailor" rather than "Belligerent Telmarine", as i suspect the Mutiny Scene was the place where he got to display his belligerence to the full. Hopefully the scene will make it onto an extended cut for the dvd release, or at the very least onto the special features of the dvd.

Back to Drinian - it would be interesting to see which side of the fence he would fall on in the movie's mutiny scene. I can't imagine he would be one of the "lets keep going" people, but equally i can't imagine he would stand against his own king.

[aragorn2]

I liked Drinain well enough in the movie there was nothing special about him but Gary Sweet played his part well enough.

[Aravis Narnia]

I think he is an ESTJ 8w7.

But he was not a bully. He did like giving orders- but was not abusive.

[greenbird37]

Thought he played the part very well....very cautious and careful...he did an excellent job!

[AslanIsOnTheMove]

I thought he was fine. I always imagined him closer to Caspian's age though. He seemed kind of old and grumpy. Not reeeeeeeeeally old, but kind of old. He's supposed to be Rilian's friend in The Silver Chair. I just wonder how old that will make him if he's already not young in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

[Liberty Hoffman]

Drinian is awesome!
Gary Sweet is Drinian IMO
I love how he can be so commanding with his voice!

[stateofgreen]

I thought GS was a serviceable Drinian but that he could have had some tension with pre-dragon Eustace if they had thought about fleshing him out some. He was supposed to have the sort of voice that went through Eustace's head.

[Lucy of Narnia]

Yes, he was different from the book, but I loved the way they made him a sort of rough-and-tough sailor-man who believes in the old sea tales. I really liked it. I would have probably liked it the book-way though, as well.

So...he's not Drinian, but he's cool.

[ChristProclamer]

I am a major fan of Book Drinian. In the book, he is young, good looking, and a loyal, respectful follower of Caspian, not to mention a true friend. One gets the impression that the two have been friends for quite some time by then. Movie Drinian is utterly different. But in spite of that, I found that I actually could accept him. Gary Sweet carved out a new sort of Drinian, one who gave what was needed. He's a rough, seasoned, no-nonsense captain who looks and sounds like he really could captain such a voyage. I suspect Movie Drinian isn't Telmarine at all; by his appearance and experience, he's likely a sea-faring islander, not a sea-fearing Telmarine. Drinian is not like the book, but truthfully, I'm not sure the book would work in such a context.

For one thing, keeping Drinian young and good-looking might seem a little suspicious. There are enough young, good looking Narnian heroes; that's pretty much half the cast. Not all Narnians are pretty boys, and I can see where filmmakers would want to get that across. Then, there's the relationship; a second brother/friend relationship with Caspian would have been quite superfluous with the emphasis put on Caspian/Edmund as it was. Drinian delivers some funny and some touching lines in the book; a lot of similar moments come from other characters, and with that, the need for Book Drinian is pushed out. So a strong, solid background character was created and became Movie Drinian.

Was he annoying? Yes, a little. But really, what could have been done better and worked within the context of this film? I for one am content with what was done.

[StBrianofMinneapolis]

I am a fan of the film's portrayal of Drinian. Sure it was different than the book, but many thing were bound to be different.

I wasn't in the Navy, but as a former soldier I can see the movie Drinian as someone I would be willing to trust my life to. He really came off as an experienced and competent leader.

[Lady Haleth]

The only thing that bugged me about Drinian was the fact that he was bald.

[waggawerewolf27]

That is a common fate of handsome young men . Gary Sweet played in TV series like Police Rescue or Stingers. He also played in Australian WW1 films like Gallipoli and The Lighthorsemen. Perhaps when playing Lord Drinian he is still playing a bit of a policeman?

Even in the books Drinian doesn't have to be particularly young and handsome. He only needs to stay around until Rilian has grown up and runs away with LOTGK. By the time Eustace and Jill get to do the police work on tracing Rilian, Drinian has died.