Now I have to preface this by saying that I’m far from a Frank Herbert scholar. I’m just ignorant to the literary works that led to the Denis Villeneuve epics. I have watched a lot of Youtube content on this sequel and read A LOT of Letterboxd reviews on Dune II, so I noticed a bone of contention is in Chani’s choices in the film and at the end. And even some choice remarks towards Zendaya’s performance. So with the film, Denis always seemed to indicate this is how his Chani would react. She is not a believer in prophesy, fully invested in Paul as an ally of the Fremen, not some messiah benefiting from lies spread by his mother, who just so happens to be Baron Harkonnen’s daughter (PLOT TWIST! I was floored at that!), unwilling to believe in him as a leader that brings war and death in serious magnitude. As far as Zendaya’s performance, I guess I misjudge because her behavior throughout as Chani just made sense to me. When Paul engages with the Freman against the Herkonnen soldiers and machinery alongside Chani’s people, she shows love and appreciation in those heroic deeds (as they are heroic), but any talk of following this messianic path, seemingly certain to bring forth an enormous, even galactic death toll, she frowns upon that and never holds back any displeasure towards Paul listening to either Jessica, his mother (Reverend Mother, having drinken of the poison blue blood pulled from the worm of the Arrakas sands), or his buddy of the House of Attreides, Gurney…this is who Chani is in Denis’ films. Now I would have to be filled in on how Chani is in the Herbert novels. But I can only comment on the Chani of the films. She just seems to make sense to me as a character, as portrayed by Zendaya.

Speaking on Zendaya, she has this little eye twitch that communicates pure piss and vinegar that rivals plenty of over the top heavies. And there is a shot I thought was one of the best in the film…Walkin’s Emperor and all in attendance after the death of Butler’s Harkonnen menace bows and kisses Paul’s hand (well, barely), and the only three standing are Chalamet’s Paul, Pugh’s Irula (after begging for her father’s life, offering to wed him in return), and Chani (who had been defiant towards her people following Paul in some holy war certain to get many of them killed as a result). Also, the way Butler’s Feyd-Rautha calls Chani a pet to Paul when she was far more than that – Denis goes out of his way to make us see just how much of a warrior she is – and Paul seemingly gaining an extra bit of intensity as a result which helps him in defeating Feyd-Rautha emphasizes the duality that exists. At any rate, Denis made sure we see Jessica and Charlotte Rampling’s Reverend Mother Mohiam opposing each other before Paul and Feyd-Rautha’s combat. The whole film builds on Paul’s journey, with Jessica very much puppeteering his mythic build towards that moment with the Emperor, and how Chani’s love is just not enough to thwart the “prophesy”. I guess that is why I always felt that dread throughout. In the back of my mind, all I could think about was the sheer scale of death that is coming.

Oh, before I force myself to stop writing, the way Denis shows the Atreides falling in the first film and the Harkonnens falling in the second is strikingly similar. They are both set up as – in sports – blowouts. That inevitability is always there. On the defensive, the Harkonnens were wiped out as the Atreides were in the first film.