"Tolkien" Offers a Beautiful Story about Love and the Importance of Art that Should Not Be Missed

  Little insight about The Optimist: I'm a literary junkie. When I'm not watching movies, reading and writing are my jam. Storytelling, in its many forms, has always been an intimate part of my life. It's probably the main reason I am so drawn to cinema; the visual art form is really quite engaging. As for literature alone, no day goes by where my nose isn't in a book. Many stories have captured my imagination over the years and have served as inspiration for my own storytelling endeavors. One of the greatest pieces of work to do that would be that of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Tolkien's mastery over world-building, language, and metaphorical examination is wrought across every page of those books. The film adaptations are some of my favorite pieces of cinema, so naturally when I heard that a film was coming out that explored the early parts of Tolkien's life and how he gained his inspiration, I was pretty stoked to see it. That movie, aptly titled Tolkien, opens this weekend, and I highly recommend checking it out.

 The film chronicles the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love, and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. The events of his early life form a foundation for what would later be some of the greatest literary works to reach the masses. It speaks to the importance of exploring your art and sharing it with the world. From a film standpoint, it's a slower-paced narrative with little to no action. In a current cinematic climate where bombastic action set pieces reign supreme as they splash across the silver screen, Tolkien offers a more intimate and close nit experience. The narrative flips back and forth between Tolkien's experience fighting in World War I, and his youth up to the point of leaving for said war. The dynamic may seem drastic at first, but it ends up being quite a beautiful narrative approach. As the story builds upon Tolkien's relationships, education, and self-exploration, those emotions are put on display during the war excerpts, making for an emotionally cohesive story. I found the writing and pace of the film just right, and the emotional journey you go on as a viewer is often times in line with what the characters are feeling on screen.

   The acting is really quite good. Nicholas Hoult is, at least in my mind, one of the more underrated young actors currently working. He plays J.R.R. Tolkien in this film and really manages to capture the essence of a character that is both victim to his emotional desires as well as his lost perspective concerning what he wants most out of life. The film plays into this idea that in order to make the best of yourself, things like love and other emotional distractions must be avoided. Tolkien tries this, forsaking the woman he loves, Edith (played by the equally talented Lily Collins), to focus on his studies. Only, within that endeavor he struggles to find his true passion. Tolkien was a real person, but here he is a character within a film, and both Hoult and Collins--as the central characters of the story--manage to deliver performances that make their characters relatable and real. This is only rivaled by the "fellowship" that Tolkien associates himself with; a core group of influential friends that are funny, charming, and the epitome of brotherhood.

   The production of the movie is really quite beautiful. There are visual moments and cues throughout that hearken back to the Lord of the Rings films, showcasing how Tolkien drew from his real life experiences that ultimately inspired those tales. The horrors of war are symbolized throughout the narrative of The Lord of the Rings, and this movie does some really clever things visually to make those connections. It's never overbearing or distracting from the main narrative. From start to finish, Tolkien is a wonderfully crafted film that speaks to the heart of anyone who seeks out love and dreams. It's a smaller tale, with little but very effective action pieces, and a story that resonates. I recommend this to anyone even remotely interested.