Tolkien (film)

As young children being raised by a single mother, J. R. R. Tolkien and his brother receive help from a local priest, Father Francis, who must relocate them from their home to small apartments in Birmingham due to financial hardships. Their mother is supportive and loving, filling their minds with stories of adventure and mystery which she recites by the fireplace at night. She becomes ill, however, and one day upon returning home from school, Tolkien finds her slumped in her chair, dead. Father Francis becomes the boys' legal guardian, and eventually finds a kindly rich woman who agrees to take them in, providing them with room and board while they continue their childhood education. There, Tolkien meets Edith Bratt, the woman's only other ward. Tolkien is taken with Edith, whose piano playing he admires, and the two become friends.

At school, Tolkien immediately shows talent with languages, earning rough treatment from a rival classmate, Robert. When the two boys get into a fight, the headmaster—Robert's father—orders that they spend all of their time together for the remainder of the term. While both initially resent the assignment, Tolkien is soon accepted into Robert's small circle of friends, and the four—J. R. R., Robert, Geoffrey, and Christopher – form a close friendship, which grows with the years, even as they attend separate universities. Meanwhile, Tolkien continues his friendship with Edith, falling in love with her. Father Francis finds out about their relationship and recognizes that it is affecting Tolkien's grades, and so forbids him from pursuing her while under his guardianship. Tolkien is distraught, not wanting to lose the priest's financial support of his schooling. He relates the conversation to Edith, promising they will be able to be together when he reaches 21, the age of majority, but she instead ends the relationship.

Tolkien struggles at Oxford, but attracts the attention of Professor Joseph Wright, a prominent philologist. Tolkien realizes language is his true passion, and enrolls in Wright's class. When the First World War breaks out, he and his friends all enlist in the British Army. Before Tolkien leaves, Edith returns and the two declare their love for each other. At the Battle of the Somme, Tolkien, suffering from trench fever, goes to look for Geoffrey, convinced that he is calling him, but is unable to find him and collapses unconscious. He wakes in a hospital weeks later with Edith by his side, to find that Geoffrey and Robert were killed; Christopher survived but was left traumatized.

Years later, Tolkien and Edith are married with four children, and Tolkien is now a professor at Oxford himself. The film ends with him inspired to write the famous opening of The Hobbit.

On November 21, 2013, it was announced that Fox Searchlight Pictures and Chernin Entertainment were developing a biographical film about the English writer, and author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien, based on a screenplay by David Gleeson.[3] Another J. R. R. Tolkien biopic, Tolkien and Lewis, was reported to be in production a year before, but did not proceed.[4] On July 24, 2017, Dome Karukoski was hired to direct the film with the screenplay from Gleeson and Stephen Beresford, which Chernin produced for Fox Searchlight to distribute.[5]

Karukoski related that he had grown up fatherless and in poverty, and that because of this, he felt, as a child, a strong connection to Tolkien, who had similar experiences.[6] Karukoski also mentioned that he had wanted to create a biopic about Tolkien since he was 12, which was when he first read Tolkien's works,[6] and that it had been a dream of his to create film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings.[7] He described the effect of Tolkien's works on him as "life-changing", saying that when he was bullied as a child, "it was like the characters became friends of mine."[6] Of the author, he said: "[w]hat struck me the most is that he lived an amazing life... this beautiful, emotional story about love and friendship. So many things about what I had read about [in] the books, occurred or were instrumental in his own life. [The Tolkien film was] a film that had to be made."[8]

On April 23, 2019, the Tolkien Estate issued a statement making it clear that the family and estate do not endorse the film or its content.[9][10]

The film touches on many themes in Tolkien's early life, including his friendships, love of languages, religion, and romance with Edith Bratt.[8]

(L:R) Director Dome Karukoski and stars Anthony Boyle, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Patrick Gibson promoting the film at the 2019 WonderCon.

In July 2017, Nicholas Hoult was reportedly in talks with the studio, as the frontrunner for the title role.[11] On August 30, 2017, Lily Collins was cast to co-star with Hoult, as Edith Bratt, love and later wife of Tolkien, who was also the inspiration for Lúthien in The Silmarillion.[12] Colm Meaney, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Genevieve O'Reilly joined the cast in October 2017,[13][14] and Craig Roberts was added the following month.[15] Principal photography commenced in October 2017 in the United Kingdom,[16] and concluded on December 14, 2017.[17]

Tolkien was released on May 3, 2019, in the United Kingdom[18] and on May 10, 2019 in the United States.[19]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Tolkien (film)

• Official website on Fox Searchlight's official website
• Tolkien at IMDb 
• Tolkien at AllMovie
• Tolkien at History vs. Hollywood