Simply titled Tolkein, the biopic covers the early part of the man's life, focusing primarily on his school days and the events of World War I.
I decided to watch it for Hugo nomination purposes. It was...okay. I would not have put as much attention on the romance with Edith, but they likely did so because she was the only woman around. (Also, I can't see Colm Meaney as anything but Miles O'Brien no matter what he's doing).
Surprisingly, the best part of the movie was: The special effects. Tossing in Lord of the Rings visual references was almost certainly a way to make the movie more interesting (and it's been criticized for doing so whilst skipping schoolday shenanigans which would have been more interesting).
But the plot itself was unexciting. The family did not approve or endorse the biopic, although this may have been a blanket "Don't assume it's accurate" statement.
The magical realism approach was intriguing (and again, the effects were very well done). But the movie lacked any spark that would lead it to rest above average.
Nope, not getting my nomination. Nicholas Hoult did a good job, though. All the actors did. It just...
...took itself too seriously. I think that's the problem. Tolkein as a young man was a little wild and they hit the edges of that without letting it dominate. When it should have.
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