Feel the Norrington Loff!

[owl]

The Ending of PotC
by Ted Elliott

Leebert and others all had the feeling that something was missing from the ending of the movie; the ending as it was did not generate the emotional response that they wanted from the story. I agree; it did not generate the emotional response that I wanted, either. Some
posts included suggestions as to how to the ending could have been changed so as to generate that response, but my feeling is: the ending is right. It's not what happens in the ending that fails to generate that kind of soaring emotional response -- it's what fails
to happen *before* the ending.

Basically, what fails to happen is an emotional investment in Norrington by the audience.

We designed the ending so it relied on the audience empathizing with Norrington, so that when he gives up any chance of being with the woman he loves *because of how much he loves her,* it would generate a small swell of emotion that, for the most part, people
instinctively try to repress: sadness.

Therefore, any positive emotional response (happiness, satisfaction, just the visceral feeling one gets from watching a really pretty girl and a really handsome guy kiss) generated by the moment between Elizabeth and Will would then be *building* on that earlier emotion,
as well as providing an acceptable release for that emotion -- *particularly for the males in the audience,* many of whom buy into that whole "Real men don't cry at movies" crap (like me, for instance). The audience would then carry that feeling into the moment when Jack gets the Black Pearl back, and be further built upon by that and Jack's final lines.

Unfortunately, due to a number of different factors -- primarily, the short post-production schedule which did not afford Gore much opportunity to experiment with the movie -- the moment we wrote *specifically* to set up the audience's emotional response to Norrington's actions in the ending is not in the movie.

Here's what's missing:

In the scene aboard the Dauntless, when Elizabeth agrees to marry Norrington in exchange for his rescuing Will, Norrington responds by ordering Jack to give them the bearings to Isla de Muerta -- in other words, he accepts Elizabeth's bargain, even though we (the audience) recognize that she loves Will, not Norrington. And then the scene ends.

The problem is, why doesn't Norrington recognize what the audience recognizes? If I -- or you, or anyone -- was in that situation, there is no way I'd believe that Elizabeth loved me; in fact, it would be obvious that she didn't. So that means that either Norrington is too stupid, or too blinded by his own ego, to see what is in front of his (and our) eyes. Given the stereotype of aristocracy (particularly historical British aristocracy), I believe the audience tends to assume ego-blindness. Regardless, it is hard for the audience to feel empathy for someone who is behaving differently than they would in those circumstance (that is, without devoting a chunk of the story to making the audience understand and empathize with *why* he is behaving differently -- which simply would not fit into the story we were telling).

The way we chose to address this was to make Norrington's response identical to the audience's response, filtered through Norrington's character: Despite the evidence that Elizabeth does not love him
(which he recognizes), Norrington wants to *believe* Elizabeth loves him. And, hey, we've all been there, right? To that ends, we wrote this exchange, which took place between Norrington and Elizabeth immediately after Jack is taken to the bridge of the Dauntless
(Norrington takes Elizabeth aside, and the way Gore staged it recalled the staging of the proposal scene):

NORRINGTON
Elizabeth -- Miss Swann. I find myself ... worried that your answer is perhaps ... Less than sincere.

ELIZABETH
I would not give my word lightly.

NORRINGTON
I know. But is it so wrong for me to wish it given unconditionally?

ELIZABETH
It is not a condition. It is a request. Your answer would not change mine. You are a fine man ... James.

For a brief moment, Norrington breaks into a wide, boyish smile. His military bearing reasserts itself, but only just.

NORRINGTON
Well. Very well. Excellent.

* * *

The single most important thing in this scene is Norrington's reaction to the words "You are a fine man ... James." Jack Davenport has an utterly charming smile, and we wrote the scene to that moment -- the moment where the audience would recognize: Hey, this guy is human -- and I like him!

(And Keira played this scene perfectly -- there is a real sense in her performance that while she may never love Norrington, she likes him, respects him, and could even find some joy in being married to him ... something we felt had to come across, since it was vitally important to the moment, the characters and the story).

(One of my favorite moments of the production was when we were shooting the rescue scene, and ran a rehearsal of the stuff where Norrington talks to Will about the sword, then says he'll give Jack one day's head start. Keira watched him walk away, and said to
Jonathan Pryce "Daddy, I am making the right choice?" *That* was exactly the feeling we wanted the audience to have in regards to Norrington: in a different story, he would have been the hero and the romantic lead).

Now, obviously, there is no way of knowing for certain that this would have worked the way we intended -- remember, *everything* is theory until it gets in front of the audience. But the fact that the ending does not have the emotional power is was intended to have, and the fact that the moment we designed to give it that power was not in the movie, and that we said if that moment was not in the movie, the ending would not have the emotional power we intended it to have ... well, I guess I'll always think "You know, if only ..."

And the man actually has a first name!