Tolkien biopic no real bang for your Middle-Earth buck

Realistically the only possible title for this biopic of revered author J.R.R Tolkien should be Tolkien: The Years With No Lords, Rings or Hobbits In ‘Em Whatsoever. So what is the point?

Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins play J.R.R Tolkien and Edith Tolkien.

If the makers of this biopic of revered author J.R.R. Tolkien were trading in the honesty business, the actual title of this selectively informative affair would be Tolkien: The Early Years.

If those same folk behind the cameras were in the full-transparency business, the only possible title would be Tolkien: The Years With No Lords, Rings or Hobbits In ‘Em Whatsoever.

So, with no real bang for your Middle-earth buck on offer, what will you walk away with here?

Well, you will learn how to properly pronounce the subject’s surname once and for all (’Tol-keen’ if you need to know right now).

The bloke’s first name was John, but his mates called him Ron. He referred to his mates as “a fellowship.”

Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson and Tom Glynn-Carney play the author’s school mates.

Born in South Africa. Orphaned in England. Lucked his way into a posh school or two. Made some lifelong friends there.

Fell in love with a fellow orphan, and later married her. Did some time in WW1, but not enough time to get himself killed.

And, umm, that’s about it. There are no medium close-ups of Tolkien with a pen in the side of his mouth, clacking away on a typewriter as visions of Frodo, Sam, Gollum and the gang pop thought-bubbles just out of frame.

Nah, that’s another movie for another day.

While this movie does try and forge some longshot links between the younger Tolkien’s life experiences and his later exploits as the foremost fantasist of the 20th century, they are tenuous at best.

Tolkien makes no mention of the Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien himself always refuted any theory that his immaculately mapped-out Lord of the Rings work could be sourced from anything but his own imagination.

And it must be said, the imagination of Tolkien the man is a commodity that Tolkien the movie can rarely lay a finger on.

Any saving graces? Arguably only the lead performance of Nicholas Hoult as Tolkien, which quickly locks into the rare sensitivity and curiosity of the man, and never lets go.

Lily Collins also does well in a thankless role as Edith, aka J.R.R.’s missus.

The Tolkien estate has distanced itself from this project, not really seeing any need or relevance in it. Can’t knock where they’re coming from after you see where this movie goes to.

TOLKIEN (M)

Director: Dome Karukoski (Tom of Finland)

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins.

Rating: **

Flawed of the rings