TOLKIEN (2019)
Explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-Earth novels.—
A somewhat plodding and clichéd period drama that, unfortunately, is not as creative as Tolkien’s work. The cast does a good job of the material, the cinematography is luscious like you’d expect from a period drama, it’s just a pity that the scriptwriters didn’t have more courage to tackle such an important author and give him the justice he deserves. The scenes between Tolkien and Edith are the best and I would have liked to have seen their relationship given even more screen time. TOLKIEN is adequate and undemanding.
