“Tolkien is a 2019 biographical drama film that depicts J.R.R. Tolkien’s early life in Birmingham and King Edward’s School, as an undergraduate at Oxford and serving in the Great War.” – Tolkien Gateway
Tolkien (2019)
Starring
Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Colm Meaney
Directed by
Dome Karukoski
Written by
David Gleeson, Stephen Beresford
Storyline
*Contains Spoilers*
The film opens with a fire-filled background and Tolkien daydreaming while in his barracks. He is in The Somme, France during the First World War. Going farther back in time, we see a young Tolkien playing in the forest in Sarehole Mill, England on a bright and sunny day. He returns home to find Father Francis in his home, and his Mother, Mabel (played by Outlander’s Laura Donnelly) tells him to pack up; they will be moving to Birmingham. In the following scenes, you see how much his Mother makes an effort to bring stories and literature into their lives. She always encouraged them to use their imaginations.
After becoming orphans, Tolkien and his brother Hilary go to live with their Aunt. Eventually, they begin to attend King Edward’s school. (They move around quite a bit, although not all of this is shown in the film). Here, Tolkien’s imagination starts to bloom even more. His knack for learning languages and remembering verses is made abundantly clear. He doesn’t even need to read from his books to recite texts from memory.
After getting into a physical altercation during a game of rugby, Tolkien and another student see the headmaster.
Unbeknownst to Tolkien, the peer he got into the fight with is the headmaster’s Son. “Men should be comrades. Wherever they come from. From the highest, to the lowest”, says the headmaster. This instantly reminds you of the fellowship of the ring, and how everyone from elves to dwarves, and men to hobbit learn to be there for one another, no matter what. Over time, Tolkien becomes dear friends with the three boys he once presumed were there to give him a hard time.
The four of them often sit in a tea room, surrounded by books and discuss literature and life. During one of these moments, the boys talk about women. The presence of strong, capable, independent women in Tolkien’s stories seems to be inspired by these conversations. (Eowyn, in particular, came to mind but Arwen has strength to her as well). Afterwards, they discuss how they should form a club, a brotherhood. Subsequently, “The Tea Club and Barrovian Society” otherwise known as “T.C.B.S” is formed. Suddenly, you see the similarities between these young men sitting together and
“-T.C.B.S. Okay, that’s settled. Now what do we do? – We change the world! – Oh, good. Something simple. – Through art, you clown. Through the power of art.”
We see the boys grow into men, and Tolkien becomes close with Edith Bratt. He tells her all about what he’s writing and the languages he is creating. “- Cellar Door. – Cellar Door? – That’s the most musical word I can think of”.
While Tolkien explains that it’s not the name of a princess but of a place, my mind had gone somewhere else completely. I got chills believing he was discussing Isildur (Cellar Door, Isildur). This sparks a whole discussion about what makes a word beautiful. Edith stands by her views that words aren’t beautiful because of how they sound, but rather what they mean.
“A word isn’t beautiful just because of its sound. “Cellar door.” It’s the marriage of sound and meaning, the door to the cellar, a place where something magical and mysterious might happen.”
He continues to say that it is a path through a dense, dark forest. Where two trees of opposing colors, one a deep and dark black, the other pure white, intertwine. Each contain a deadly poison in their sap but they have grown together over thousands of years. Their poisoned saps comingle and together create a life-giving water. “The water… of Cellardoor”. This is a powerful scene that shows how a simple conversation can spark such creative ideas, and once Tolkien begins to use his imagination, there’s no stopping him. It was simple, yet brilliant. There are many times when you see the inspiration Edith provides Tolkien and how her qualities are shared among the women in his novels. (It’s wonderful).
We are witness Tolkien experiencing the war. He sees the flamethrowers become the fiery breath of a large dragon.
The scenes in which they show the repercussions of the war are powerful and can be quite haunting. Mixed in with these scenes, we also see Tolkien and Edith forced into different directions. Tolkien lands himself in Oxford, England. Here, no matter what form of distractions his friends try to find for him, Tolkien is clearly missing Edith and it creates a moment of tension between the group. However, these moments reinforce the fact that the four of them are brothers and that will never change.
After Tolkien receives some news about Edith, we see him very clearly inebriated. He winds up shouting loudly (at a very late hour) in the square where the professors sleep. Geoff goes to collect him, which turns into him consoling Tolkien. We learn that this beligerent state is due to Edith planning on getting married to another.
“To love someone, who, for whatever reason, cannot return your feelings is painful. But if you listen to the poets, perhaps there’s a kind of beauty to that love. It burns. Bright. And it’s never tainted by reality or by – overuse. It’s as clear and fierce today as it was the very first day it began. And there’s beauty to that, I think. At least, that’s what I cling to, anyway.”
Geoffrey Smith
After this, Tolkien speaks with Professor Wright, who says he heard Tolkien speaking in a language he couldn’t identify during his display of drunkenness:
“- I thought perhaps I heard some Finnish.
– Yes, I stole a good deal.
– Not stole. Languages never steal.
– Right.
– Influenced.”
As a Finn, I highly appreciated this scene. Tolkien runs after Professor Wright who had stood quickly to depart. Wright proceeds to say,
“A child points, and is taught a word. Tree. Later, he learns to distinguish this tree from all the others. He learns its particular name, he plays under the tree, he dances around it. Stands beneath its branches, for shade or shelter. He kisses under it, sleeps under it, he weds under it. He marches past it on his way to war, and limps past it on his journey home. A king is said to have hidden in this tree. A spirit may dwell within its bark. Its distinctive leaves are carved onto the tombs and monuments of his landlords. Its wood might have built the galleons that saved his ancestors from invasion.
And all this, the general and the specific, the national and the personal, all this, he knows, and feels, and summons somehow, however faintly, with the utterance of a single sound. ‘Oak.’ Saxon word. Proto-Germanic. Cognates in Old Norse. ‘Eik.’ Language is never nonsense. Language is meaning. History. Layer upon layer upon layer. And a word without meaning is — what? Merely a sound.”
Oh, how I love this.
Professor Wright plays quite a large part in Tolkien’s future and I truly appreciate the portrayal of how much a teacher can change the life of a student. Wright gives Tolkien a challenge to complete by that evening, which Tolkien does not seem to accomplish. As Wright gives his next class, we almost see the inspiration behind some of Gandalf’s words and mannerisms appear before our eyes. Tolkien is once again inspired and Middle Earth is created.
Then, it is learned that England is at war.
Tolkien and Wright are outside, reading through some of Tolkien’s writing, when a student runs into the square shouting, “War! War! England’s at war! Germany’s invaded Belgium”. While many of the students gather together excitedly, Tolkien continues reading aloud as a look of terror and sadness spreads across Wright’s face.He nudges Tolkien to continue reading as commotion continues to spread. Later, T.C.B.S. toasts to all their future meetings all across Europe- sadness and worry etched on their faces.
What comes next includes tearful yet life-changing goodbyes and equally impactful moments of war. During times when Tolkien is searching through pools of mud and blood in search of Geoffrey, we once again see the evil forces that invade Middle Earth in the smoke and ruin that surrounds him. The pools of blood remind you of the Dead Marshes. Then, a single white horse that shines through all the darkness appears. From Balrog to Shadowfax, we see the sparks behind the inspiration of both the good and evil in Tolkien’s stories.
Tolkien wakes in hospital with Edith by his side, who tells him that many of his friends did not survive.
He receives one last note from Geoffrey telling him to voice what he dreamed and what all of T.C.B.S had agreed upon. That the “death of one of its members cannot, I am determined, dissolve the T.C.B.S. Death can make use loathsome and helpless as individuals, but it cannot put an end to the immortal four! May God Bless you, my dear John Ronald, and may you say the things I have tried to say long after I am not there to say them.” Cue the waterworks!
In Oxford, many years later, we see Tolkien working as a Professor and he goes home to Edith and their children. He’s having a hard time writing and Edith reminds him that it used to be a passion of his to write, not a form of torture. She just wants him to either decide what he wants to get out of writing or to abandon it completely.
Tolkien meets with Mrs Smith (played by the talented Genevieve O’Reilly) at the spot where all of the boys used to sit and discuss books.
They speak of the the friends her Son had. Many who have come home from the war are left with different types of scars. It’s evident that some of Tolkien’s friends were no longer the same. Hoult and O’Reilly’s acting at this particular moment is heartbreakingly good.
She thanks Tolkien for bringing her here, for she can imagine them all sitting there together and how it must have been such a happy time. Tolkien asks for her permission to get a volume of her Son’s poems published. At first, she’s inclined to say no. Tolkien explains that he thinks it’s incredibly important because of how good the poetry is. She simply doesn’t see what good it would do. “It would do the most extraordinary good. Please believe me.” This whole scene had me sobbing. [The published work can be found here: A Spring Harvest (Annotated) by Geoffrey Bache Smith (Author), Matthew J. Distefano (Foreword), J.R.R. Tolkien (Preface)].
The film comes to a close with Tolkien talking to his children in a forest, asking them to listen to him read a story. A story, he says, about a Fellowship. Tolkien is in his study, pipe in hand. He begins to write at his desk. The Hobbit would be published in 1937, and the rest, luckily for us, is history.
Thoughts
I want to state for the record that I love The Lord of the Rings films. However, I will need to read the books again. (Which, I will try to do before the year’s end if I can work through my current reads first). For someone who is such a big fan of the films, this movie made me realize that I know far too little about the life of Tolkien. Or, even the lore behind a lot of the storylines. If you want a review of this film from someone a bit more “knowledgeable” of the real-life specifics, I understand. However, this review will come from the heart of someone who appreciates all things Tolkien and has good intentions.
I remember hearing several complaints about this film; many of which, were coming from religiously conservative reviewers. While I respect people’s right to have faith in whatever they choose, I, myself, do not actively practice any religion. However, I had a feeling while watching it that somebody, somewhere would have an issue with the scenes revolving around belief systems. Do I think it was a sort of blasphemous form of expression? Not at all.
I found an interesting take on the subject while preparing this article. “Tolkien” Film: How Christian Reviewers are Getting it Wrong (SPOILERS) — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick (ancientfaith.com) may be interesting. There are spoilers so be careful. Again, I’m not here to start religious debates or otherwise. I simply wonder what Tolkien would say about the topic if he knew all of the discussions surrounding this film.
Overall
I am very happy to report that I loved this movie. I texted my partner immediately to say that we must get a physical copy of it. It will be the perfect addition to our Lord of the Rings-related collection. Being a fan of the films and respecting Tolkien’s work and ideas as I do, I was apprehensive. As with most films, I worry about how they choose to portray certain stories. I had nothing to worry about; I watched it twice within 24 hours.
There is a good balance between the events in his life and seeing what his imagination creates. There are several instances where you see which specific events inspire character/storylines. His use of languages, the theme of war and of fellowship- it all comes together so beautifully. It is an exceptional way to remember his friends, and the love and loss he experienced.
I doubt I’ll be able to watch The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit under the same light after watching this. But, this is a good thing! I believe it enhances an already magical experience and I’m thankful for that.
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