A review of the Tolkien movie with discussion questions.
To Know Before You Go:
Movie: Tolkien
Rating: PG-13
Age Suggestion: 12+ Acknowledging graphic war scenes
Running Time: 1 hour and 52 minutes
Release Date: May 10th, 2019
Stars: 4 out of 5
Themes: Fellowship, Love, Friendship, War, Storytelling, Fantasy, Education, Social Class
Trigger Warnings: The two main characters in the movie are orphans and lightly discuss the experiences that led them there. War and death. There are extremely graphic war scenes. EG: a live person laying in a pool of blood surrounded by deceased people. (Think any WWI or WWII action flick)
Quick Summary:
JRR Tolkien is considered one of the greatest fantasy writers of the century (And I’ll add- one that has very strong female characters). But who and what was the inspiration behind his mythology and the fantastic worlds that he created? He was orphaned as a child, a soldier in his twenties, and an Oxford professor who wrote one of the most prolific sagas of our time. And while you may have heard of the fellowships he had later in life, have you heard of the original fellowship? The first ring? His real life fairytale? The Tolkien movie tells the tale of what influenced him in the first two decades of his life.
Is it worth seeing?:
Our team all felt a little differently about the film- coinciding with our varying degrees of LOTR fandom. We are excited about the movie though. The acting, soundtrack and filmography were all done very well! And while we all reacted differently to what was or what was not included in the film- I think we all can agree that the movie is worth seeing! It skims the surface of the epic life that JRR Tolkien led and hopefully will make you want to go read more of his stories and more about his life.
You DO NOT need to be a fan of Lord of the Rings to enjoy this. More than just an origin story, more than just a romance, it’s the beginning of a really engaging fairy tale. If you love LOTR and D&D or if you don’t but you liked the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society book or movie- this movie has something for you. It’s an inspiring watch.
*****************Minor Spoilers Beyond This Point******************
Discussion Questions:
1) What surprised you about this story?
2) Out of all of Tolkien’s characters- or the characters in the movie- who would you like to be and who do you most relate with?
3) If you’re a Tolkien superfan- how do you think they did with portraying the first 20/30 years of his life?
4) How does your community inspire you to do better?
5) Do you think the world can be changed by sharing art?
6) There were several traumatic events in Tolkien’s life that inspired parts of his storytelling- how can we use negative experiences in therapeutic and positive ways?
7) There were also a lot of positive things that happened that obviously influenced his storytelling as well- what wonderful things have made an impact in your life?
8) Our brains are hardwired for stories- what are your favorite stories to escape with?
9) What is your favorite form of telling or listening to stories?
10) How can you help inspire and spur on the people in your community?
Reviews and Thoughts:
-Thoughts from the Hobbit:
The Tolkien movie concentrates on two elements of his early life – his relationship with three friends at school and his relationship with Edith Bratt (who he would later marry). The three friends were historically the core members of the “T. C. B. S.” (Tea Club, Barrovian Society); in the film they are the only members. This group of friends encouraged each other artistically and, in some ways, mirror the later “Inklings”. The effect of this group to inspire its members and push them toward excellence was well done, and I did like that art in community was portrayed here. That community and fellowship can have life long results was also clearly evident.
His relationship with Edith has some timeline issues (done for dramatic effect) that I found unnecessary. And the film references and implies that she was the inspiration for his strongest female characters (in particular, Luthien). I wish they had been more explicit with this.
The war scenes were explained in the commentary afterwards as being part of a dream Tolkien has while suffering from trench fever. They do an excellent job of portraying the horror of trench warfare in World War One, but having the explanation somehow in the movie would have helped.
If you are not familiar with Tolkien’s early life, this is a good way to introduce yourself. If you are familiar, it will not give you anything new. It did, however, make me want to pick up and start reading more Tolkien – which is never a bad thing.
-Thoughts from the Elf:
~I learned some new things about Tolkien’s life that I did not previously know.
~I love that although his life was difficult, he also had an epic romance that inspired so many strong female characters in his books. And I love how he helps us navigate through tragedy in his storytelling. No one gets out unscathed, but there is always some light and hope. Plus the emphasis on love and friendship guiding us through.
~I wish they would have done a little flash forward to show that he also enjoyed fellowships and communities of artists later on in life as well.
~ The estate not approving of the movie or consulting on it did not surprise me, nor did it impact how I viewed the movie- I wish they would have but I understand that there is a lot of really complicated stuff that goes on behind the scenes with stories, rights and the film world. They are apparently being consulted about the new TV Show though and that makes this fan super happy.
~ Overall, the movie was not what I was expecting but was very well done! I thought it was very inspirational and a great way to pay homage to a storyteller who has impacted so much of our fantasy pop culture. (And continues to- with a new show coming soon)
-Thoughts from the Ent:
.The themes within this film are shown and developed quite well. From the adoring love shown to Edith to the unrelenting bond between Tolkien and his friends, Tolkien’s life is filled with heartbreak, romance, and intrigue.
.Overall, thoroughly enjoyed this movie. it came of to me as across between the fantastical world of Lord of the Rings and the biographical depiction from films such as A Beautiful Mind and The Theory of Everything. When all this is paired with good cast choices and interesting directing, you are left with a quite lovely feature film.
.After the film, there was an interview hosted by Stephen Colbert (Who is a notorious Tolkien fan). Hopefully this will be available to stream soon- or at least on the DVD. He led a discussion with the director of the film (Dome Karukoski) and the two lead actors from the film (Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins). This shed so much light onto aspects of the film that made me appreciate it even more. Karukoski shows a great love and knowledge bank of Tolkien and his excitement is inspiring and I think this comes through nicely in the movie
*While the estate was not involved in and did not approve of the making of this film (they weren’t asked and aren’t making any money from it as far as we can tell- which is normal for biographies). JRR Tolkien’s great grandson was an extra in the film. We are looking forward to some new projects that the estate is involved in and will review and link those here.*
You can find the movie here…
If you like the movie, check out these books and movies!
*This post contains mild spoilers and affiliate links*
What’s your favorite Tolkien quote?
If you enjoyed the Tolkien movie, you might also enjoy Instant Family , Brene Brown’s The Call to Courage, or The Greatest Showman.
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