Tolkien (2019)

Directed by Dome Karukoski. Starring Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Gilby, Colm Meaney, Albie Marber, Adam Bregman, Pam Ferris, Mimi Keene, Owen Teale. [PG-13]

Genteel, reverent biopic of the early life of writer J. R. R. Tolkien (Hoult as an adult, Gilby as a teen) jumps through different episodes of his life with little thematic cohesion; be it his friendship with fellow students, his romance with the love of his life (Collins), or his vigorous bid to study philology at Oxford, Tolkien’s developmental periods are compartmentalized into either being the lone focal point or discarded for long sections of the narrative. Those scenes are further divided by ones set during the Great War, as Hoult moves through the horrific combat trenches, envisioning dark riders and dragons and other images that would inspire his fantasy fiction to come. Though handsomely produced, the storytelling can be stodgy and simplistic when Tolkien’s writing could rarely be described as the same (the two best scenes involve lengthy discussions of the lovely musicality of the phrase “cellar door” and the roots of the word “oak”). Creating a passionate film about a man whose passions were tied up in language, mythology and academia was bound to be a troublesome endeavor, so why waste so much time covering the familiar encyclopedia entry highlights?

49/100