Something I've been wondering about lately is the bridge scene. Should/will the filmmakers make it more exciting?
The book says that some of the huge stones are missing, having fallen to foaming river below. Should someone slip and nearly fall through one? Further, the Lady of the Green Kirtle was quick to try to kill the questers by sending them to Harfang; should she do something to try to take their lives at the bridge as well? Perhaps an earthquake coming up from the depths of Underland that destroys the giant bridge just as the questers are crossing it? (They don't need it on the return trip, so it's somewhat expendable.)
Earlier in this thread,
aileth talked about the
possibility of Trumpkin sending out a search party to intercept and stop Puddleglum and the children, with the thought that they might turn back at the bridge because it would be too dangerous to go any further. Destroying the bridge could fit well with that idea.
It also occurs to me that crossing this bridge can't have been a very fun moment for Eustace.
I kind of hope that, in the movie, he'll make a joke to Jill along the lines of not getting any ideas about trying to "murder" him again.
Anyway, another thought I've been pondering recently is whether or not the Lady of the Green Kirtle and the Black Knight should be seen together in this scene, or at least in the same sense that we see them appear in the book.
I don't so much care whether or not the audience suspects Rilian's identity at the end of the movie; you'd have to jump through a lot of hoops to make that reveal a genuine twist. What I
don't want is for the audience to feel like our heroes are dense because they aren't immediately suspicious that the woman in the green dress and the guy all covered up in armor are the exact people they've been sent to look for.
Hmmm, if you go with the idea of destroying the bridge... pardon me while I start imagining the possible scene in my head.
After the questers have reached safety on the other side of the gorge, you could potentially have the Lady of the Green Kirtle appear, materializing out of the mist and approaching the three. Inwardly, she's seething that they thwarted her plan to do away with them, but the audience won't know this. She could express what appears to be genuine concern for the questers ("Some of you are young pilgrims to walk this rough waste"), and suggests that they go to Harfang.
Then, she sees the Black Knight riding toward them, and she stiffens and her demeanor visibly changes. She says that she must go, and after mounting the white horse and beginning to ride towards the Knight, she calls over her shoulder the final instructions about reaching Harfang before they lock the door. Mist then swirls around her retreating form and the more distant image of the Black Knight, and both disappear.
Now, if you're looking at this from the perspective of someone who doesn't know that the woman is evil, you'd probably think that it was the Black Knight who was in control of the Lady of the Green Kirtle, not the other way around. In reality, she looked worried upon seeing Rilian approach because she didn't want him to get close to the Narnians, and perhaps was even uncertain about the strength of the enchantment.
I would imagine that if you're able to establish the Black Knight as a Bad Guy in the minds of the audience, then people will be much more likely to think that Jill and Eustace have a point when they're arguing with Puddleglum over whether or not they should go to Harfang. Don't want movie-goers to throw their popcorn at the screen and shout "Don't do it!"
Still, I don't want the filmmakers to change too much, either. It's a delicate balance.
This post is ridiculously long.
My apologies.