If there’s one thing I took away from “Tolkien,” it’s that I’ve been saying the “Lord of the Rings” author’s name wrong: it’s “Tol-keen,” not “Tol-kee-yen.” There, I just saved you two hours.
This handsome if familiar-looking biopic examines the origins of J.R.R. Tolkien, a founding father of the medieval-fantasy genre still going strong in “Game of Thrones,” the Dungeons & Dragons resurgence and the endless appetite for hobbit-habitat tourism in New Zealand (where Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” movies were shot).
“Tolkien” has a promising lead in Nicholas Hoult (lately of the “X-Men” movies), who brings a bright spark to the bookish character; it’s no small task externalizing the internal life of a literary genius. But director Dome Karukoski (“Tom of Finland”) never really succeeds in depicting the student, and later soldier, Tolkien as all that unusual.
Orphaned as a young boy, he develops a “Dead Poets Society”-ish group of friends at boarding school, and within their bonds finds the inspiration to study languages and culture that would later inform his writing. He also falls for musician Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), who rather pointedly introduces him to Wagner’s epic “The Ring” opera.
Would it have been tacky to visually play up the connection between Tolkien’s harrowing experiences on the WWI battlefield and his depiction of Mordor in the books? Perhaps. Beyond the briefest of allusions, Karukoski tastefully leaves that to the imagination. But this — like much of the film — is a tastefulness that induces sleepiness. Tolkien’s estate was not supportive of this film, understandably: The legendary author’s work is memorial enough.
Source: Read Full Article