Film - Tolkien

Tolkien

A delightful look at JRR Tolkien’s (Nicholas Hoult) life from playing in those fields in Moseley that spurred his imagination to the loss of his mother as a chid and getting into university. Mostly, though, it’s seen through his soldier’s eyes during WW1. The harrowing scenes stop Tolkien (or Tolkeen as he corrects his teacher’s pronunciation) from being too sentimental.

It may well be a romanticised look back, nonetheless, I loved learning about his obsession for languages and seeing the reference points that later developed into stories. It was interesting to see that only when he had kids did he really managed to write the Lord of the Rings, practicing the story telling on them.

This is more than a friendship, It’s an alliance.

Whereas I expected Tolkien to get bullied at school for being a creative or even an orphan, he actually became part of The Inklings, a group of friends who had an appreciation of the arts. (The group still existed into the 1940s.)

I do love the undergrowth of the solid friendship between the four young men and that they went out to tea. Also Tolkien’s unwavering love for Edith (Lilly Collins), a fellow orphan, who he met when he and his brother lived in the same boarding house her.

Tolkien is an inspiring film about an English professor who became one of our most loved writers and it successfully captures the spirit of his writing.

8/10