Synopsis
England, early 20th century. The future writer and philologist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) and three of his schoolmates create a strong bond between them as they share the same passion for literature and art, a true fellowship that strengthens as they grow up, but the outbreak of World War I threatens to shatter it.
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Cast
- Nicholas HoultJ.R.R. Tolkien
- Lily CollinsEdith Bratt
- Colm MeaneyFather Francis Morgan
- Derek JacobiProfessor Joseph Wright
- Harry GilbyYoung J.R.R. Tolkien
- Mimi KeeneYoung Edith Bratt
- Anthony BoyleGeoffrey Bache Smith
- Adam BregmanYoung Geoffrey Bache Smith
- Patrick GibsonRobert Q. Gilson
- Albie MarberYoung Robert Q. Gilson
Recommendations
- 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Handsomely made in the customarily fastidious style of most period biographical dramas, Tolkien is strongly served by Hoult, who, after four X-Men outings (and a supporting role in last year's The Favourite), demonstrates that it's high time he moved on from that sort of thing to more interesting and challenging dramatic characterizations. - 70
IGN
Tolkien may disappoint fans looking for a LOTR origin but will please those who like stories of art, love & friendship. - 60
Empire
Karukoski’s entertaining film boasts flair and narrative ambition, but ultimately fails to completely break free of its traditional biopic frame. - 60
The Guardian
This is a very male world and perhaps the inner life of Edith remains a mystery (as perhaps it might have been for Tolkien), but its earnestness and idealism are refreshing. - 50
IndieWire
While it still dilutes Tolkien’s memory by molding his life to the narrow dimensions of a middle-brow feature that’s too safe for the arthouse and too small for the multiplex, at least it does so in a sincere attempt to trace the etymology of Tolkien’s work, and to emphasize that where stories come from can be as meaningful as where they take us. - 40
The Telegraph
Well-informed, enlightening writing on Tolkien’s life and creative process is hardly scarce. But his genius stems from his scholarship, which doesn’t obviously lend itself to cinema, even with Derek Jacobi on hand as a professor-cum-mentor fruitily declaiming in Gothic as he potters around the quad. - 40
Variety
The film – stately, well-acted, and ultimately unsubstantial – dilutes its considerable charms with hoary literary biopic conventions, and then risks strangling them entirely with its reductively literal takes on the vagaries of artistic inspiration. - 40
Time Out
Despite the best efforts of its committed young cast, and especially a game (if suspiciously old-looking) Nicholas Hoult as Tolkien in his late teens and early twenties, it’s a plodding and polite portrayal that holds few surprises.
