TOLKIEN

US, 2019, 112 minutes, Colour
Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Patrick Gibson, Anthony Boyle, Tom Glynn- Carney, Pam Ferris, Craig Roberts, Harry Gilby, Colm Meany, Laura Donnelly, Derek Jacobi.
Directed by Dome Karukoski.

To say that over the last 20 years, with the film versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, courtesy of Peter Jackson and his cinema imagination, there is a potential audience of millions for this portrait of J.R.R.Tolkien. The question is, of course, who is the author and what was he like, where did he come from, his family, his education, war experiences, and how did they combine for his classic writings?

For audiences wanting some kind of biographical information, there is enough for them to go on with, his early years, education and war, marriage, the beginnings of the family and this film ending with the publication of The Hobbit in 1937. There was a lot more to come, the creation of The Lord of the Rings, the friendship with C.S.Lewis.

For audiences wanting some kind of insight into Tolkien’s imagination, there are many clues and indications. His mother was a great storyteller for the children. He created stories while he was young, moving from South Africa after the death of his father, to the British countryside and then, after the death of his mother, living in a boarding house and then going to an upper-class school. He had created a mythical language, vocabulary, grammar. He was inventing stories – with this film giving indications now and then of the mythical dimension, warriors riding through the countryside, fellowships. But, he loved linguistics and excelled at University (under the tutorship of the professor played by Derek Jacobi).

And then, there was his intense experience of World War I, the immediate enlistment, the horrors of life in the trenches, going over the top, young men being literally blasted by fire, thousands of deaths, visuals of ponds of blood surrounded by mounds of corpses.

The other strong impact of the film is Tolkien and his friendships at school, the bonds between the club, a true fellowship which continued at University. In fact, fellowship is almost the most significant theme of the film. There is also his falling in love, his marriage, beginning a family.

Nicholas Hoult has made a variety of films since he was a child actor. Here, he is the embodiment of Tolkien (and, at 5‘ 3 “, he towers over his friends). Lily Collins plays Edith whom he met when they were young and whom he marries.

A number have commented on the meagre indications of his Catholicism (later he was to be one of the translators for the Jerusalem Bible). Colm Meany players Father Francis, a friend of the family who helped the orphans find accommodation and schooling.

Perhaps there will be a further film on Tolkien and the writing of The Lord of the Rings and his friendship with C.S.Lewis. That would enhance this present portrait of Tolkien.

1. Audience interest in Tolkien, his life, his books, the background? The influences?

2. The prewar setting? British countryside? Birmingham, homes, schools? Oxford and the University?

3. The re-creation of World War I, the atmosphere and enthusiasm, posters? The contrast with France, the battlefields, the trenches, going over the top, the hospitals? The aftermath?

4. The war sequences, the special effects, the men going over the top, the bombardment, men on fire? The horrors of war? The pond of blood, the mound of corpses?

5. The family background, South Africa, the death of the father, the mother and children coming to Britain, the work, mother and her stories, her death? The help of Father Francis? The children as orphans? Tolkien and his brother? The meeting with Mrs Faulkner, boarding, meeting Edith? Life in the Faulkner household? Mrs Faulkner, kind, but disciplined?

6. Tolkien going to school, the interviews, the boys and their snobbery? Playing rugby, the fight, going to the principal, the principal being his rival’s father, discipline, their having to work together?

7. The bonding between the young men, their meetings, school, discussions in the library, the particular talents of each one? Going to the University, Tolkien and his interest in language, creating mythical languages and Abel to speak them, the impact on the teacher during the class?

8. At University, studies, one friend the pianist, the other a painter, the other a poet? The characters, friendship, the meetings and the good fellowship, the emphasis on fellowship? The disapproval of parents? Tolkien and his encouragement?

9. The outbreak of the war, the enthusiasm, all enlisting? In France, the trench sequences, news of deaths? Tolkien and his experience of the war, illness, searching for his friend, his adjutant and his continued help? On the battlefield, fire all round, Tolkien’s collapse, in hospital?

10. The growing bond with Edith, falling in love, her response, her character, Tolkien missing his opportunity, her love for someone else? Yet, the farewell at the wharf as he went to war? The waiting for him, going to find him in his recovery? Their marriage?

11. The poet’s mother, Tolkien going to see her, the past encounters and her not wanting her son to be a poet? His interview, persuading her to have the poems published, his offering to write the introduction? Her grief at so many deaths in her family?

12. The intercutting of the war sequences with the action? Tolkien in war and the imagination of battles? Mythological?

13. Tolkien, his studies, his drinking, unreliability? The dealings with Father Francis and support?

14. The urging to meet the linguistics professor, the encounter, his being late for the academic year, his use of language, enthusiasm, the response of the professor? His writing the essay in short time, his being accepted? This contribution to his creative imagination and creating Middle Earth?

15. The immediate postwar period, his work at Oxford, respected by the students, Edith and the marriage, the children, his writing his books, the creation of the Hobbit, the scene
in the countryside with his brother and the two families?

16. The film ending just as Tolkien’s literary career was opening up? Oxford, The Lord of the Rings, C.S.Lewis all in the future?