IT IS evident that an epic like The Lord of the Rings was written by an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life.
This movie aims to tell the story of poet, philologist, academic and author J.R.R. Tolkien, who crafted this literary masterpiece.
The film spans the formative years of orphan John Ronald Reuel Tolkien as he finds friendship, love, his calling in life and, ultimately, his inspiration for his fantasy saga.
Admittedly, it is a romanticised version of Tolkien’s biography, focusing mostly on the chapters of his life that influenced his writing.
For the most part, the film presents the correlation between Tolkien’s life and his books.
It tells of his fellowship with three of his contemporaries and his love for the girl he refers to as an “elven princess”. It also shows his fascination with Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), German composer Richard Wagner’s epic music drama about a magic ring that grants the owner the power to rule the world.
The film even goes as far as to insert computer-generated illusions that allude to the fantastical creatures that are found in The Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth. As cheesy as that sounds, this drama still manages to weave a sweet tale.
Set in London, Tolkien is like catnip to Anglophiles. It is so British. And yet, the story of an orphaned language nerd who was an average academic, but who had great friends and who ended up finding love and success is a universally inspirational one.
The chemistry between Tolkien (Hoult) and his friends, and with his lady love Edith (Collins), is charming, endearing and believable.
Their relationships –which grow fonder as they grow older – are, to me, the core of the drama in Tolkien.
The film tries to be many things and tell many stories all at once, but it is easy to overlook the chaos and just become lost in the story.
