"Tolkien" (2019 release from the UK; 111 min.) is a biopic of writer J. R. R. Tolkien. As the movie opens, we are told it is "The Somme, France, World War I", and Tolkien is in the trenches and in bad shape. We then go back in time to "Sarehole Mill, England", where the young Tolkien lives with his mum and brother. Mum tells the boys that they are moving to Birmingham, much to young Tolkien's chagrin. At school, young Tolkien has trouble fitting in, until one day he befriends 3 other boys and they decide to form a "fellowship"... At this point we're less than 15 min. Into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest film from Finnish director Dome Karukoski, and his first English language film at that. Given the enormous book and film success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it was inevitable that some day a biopic of J. R. R. Tolkien would be made. That day has now arrived, and, alas, this movie is a huge disappointment. From the opening scenes (Tolkien in WWI), we watch and watch, but at no point is there any emotional connection or investment that would make us care about Tolkien or any of the other characters. The "fellowship" comes across so wooden and ACTED, just bizarre. But wait, there is more. Lily Collins as Edith, Tolkien's love interest, appears 30 min. Into the movie. In conversation with the "fellowship", it becomes clear they are now all in their senior year of high school, worrying about university applications. So the characters are 17 yrs old. Except that Lily Collins is 30 in real life, and Nicholas Hoult (playing Tolkien) is 29, and they are utterly non-believable as HS kids. Then a bit later, Edith and Tolkien are on an afternoon tea-date and Tolkien starts speaking in an invented language, which prompts a discussion between the two of them about that which goes on and on, for minutes. What the heck is going on here? I get it: it's supposed to demonstrate the genius of Tolkien. Except that the scene simply doesn't work at all. But not all is lost: Collins is lovely as usual. And I did learn the proper pronunciation of Tolkien (as young Tolkien corrects a school teacher): it's pronounced "Tol-keen". But the bottom line is that this film doesn't do justice whatsoever to Tolkien the man/the writer/the genius, not by a mile or two.
"Tolkien" opened this past weekend on 1,500 screens across the US, to so-so box office results. The (discount) Tuesday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was also attended so-so: all of 6 people, including myself. If you are a big fan of Tolkien's books and are eager to learn about the man himself, I'm afraid this movie is not going to be very informative, or enjoyable for that matter. Of course I encourage you to check it out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
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