Hello everyone. This is Frances-Robin Cooper, or at least I’m told that that was once my name. It has been one week since I was exiled for defending the Harfoots. Tell the members of my faction that I have returned. Tell all those who oppose me that I have no regrets
Anyway, while I was away I saw Dune Part 2. I have to admit, I was impressed by the movie as a whole. The graphics? Amazing. The fights? Amazing. Music, acting, casting? All amazing! However, there are a few essential scenes from the book which I just cannot let go.
Scene 1: Jamis’s Funeral
“‘I was a friend of Jamis,’ Paul whispered.
He felt tears burning in his eyes, forced more volume into his voice. ‘Jamis taught me..that..when you kill…you pay for it. I wish I’d known Jamis better…
A voice hissed: ‘He sheds tears!’
It was taken up around the ring: ‘Usul gives moisture to the dead!’”
Frank Herbert, Dune 398
That Paul’s defeat of Jamis was his first ever kill was an acute detail that Denis Villenuve chose to include in Dune Part 1. I think it’s interesting, therefore, that he doesn’t include Paul mourning at Jamis’s funeral in part 2. Additionally, the funeral scene has a lot to teach about Freman culture, especially considering that all of the water was drained from Jamis’s body and given to Paul, along with most of his property and his wife.
Despite the utter harshness of the Freman way of life, we see them mourning Jamis, sharing memories of him and honoring his legacy. As tears run down Paul’s cheeks, the Freman rush forward to touch the moisture, admiring his compassion and feeling.
This scene also does a lot of work for Paul’s character development. It characterizes him as sensitive to violence and death. Thus it better explains why Paul tries so hard to prevent the Jihad, and makes his transition into a calloused killer more significant.
Scene 2: Paul’s Defense of His Mother
“‘Paul,’ [Jessica] said, ‘there are other awakenings in this universe. I suddenly see how I’ve used you and twisted you and manipulated you to set you on the course of my choosing…a course I had to choose–if that’s any excuse–because of my own training.’ She swallowed past a lump in her throat, looked into her son’s eyes. ‘Paul…I want you to do something for me: choose the course of happiness.’”
Frank Herbert, Dune 547
The significance of this scene was completely lost in the movie. After reuniting with Paul, Gurney Halleck makes an attempt on Jessica’s life because he is under the impression that she was Leto’s betrayer, not Yueh. Paul steps in to defend his mother:
“What you have not done..is heard my mother sobbing in the night over her lost Duke,” he says.
The scene is guttural and gives recognition and release to all of the emotions that are seemingly felt by the reader but not the characters throughout the book. These are characters who show so much mental restraint that they cannot allow themselves to feel. Or, perhaps even sadder, they were never shown how to process emotions because of the necessity of their positions as members of a royal family.
However, all of that pretense is shed in this scene. This is one of the only scenes in Dune where Jessica and Paul act as mother and son to each other. Being one of the precious few, I was disappointed not to see it in the movie.
Side Note: Jessica’s Character
I was greatly disappointed by Jessica’s character in the movie. She effectively becomes the villain of the story, driving Paul to become the messiah that he doesn’t want to become by forcing him to drink The Water of Life. In the book, not only does she not know that Paul has taken the water, but is appalled to find out from Chani that he has done it. She fears for the life of her son. Jessica was one of my favorite characters in the book. She is a strong, cunning woman who simultaneously wants greatness for her children and fears for their safety. This narrative tension was completely cut in the movie, reducing her to a conniving, witch-like villain who is flat and uninteresting.
Scene 3: Alia Kills Vladimir Harkonnen
‘“I have her, Majesty!’ the Baron shouted. ‘Shall I dispatch her now-eeeeeeeeeeeh!’
‘I’m sorry, Grandfather,’ Alia said. ‘You’ve met the Atreides gom jabbar.’ she got to her feet, dropped the dark needle from her hand.”
Frank Herbert, Dune 585
Hands down, my favorite part of Frank Herbert’s Dune was how a 2-year-old kills Baron Harkonnen. It’s just such an outrageously funny moment that holds momentous significance to the plot.
The Baron is built up throughout the book as a formidable, cunning opponent. The reader can see into his mind and understand the plans within plans within plans that he has laid out to make himself emperor. In the movie, he’s more or less just the fat old guy that nobody likes.
It’s so ironic and so cathartic to see his monstrous old man who schemes, kills, and rapes get fucking murdered by Paul’s two year old sister. I have never seen a better end to a villain, and was so sad that this wasn’t the case in the movie.
Of course, Alia herself was not quite the same in the movie, a change that I’m still trying to decide if I can forgive or not. On one hand, a two-year-old with the practical and linguistic capabilities of an adult would understandably be difficult to cast. On the other hand, the suspicion and horror around Alia the Strange One in the book being replaced with Alia as an unborn child being a co-conspirator with Jessica felt like an unnecessary change.
Final Thoughts
I don’t necessarily think that all movies should be 100% true to the source material. If you want proof, look no further than my last article. But at the very the very least, the book and the movie should be the same story. Don’t misunderstand me, Dune 2 directed by Denis Villeneuve is a visual masterpiece. But, the people who watch these recent movie adaptations of Dune without reading the book will not experience the same story as those that did. That, to me, makes a difference.
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