“Hobbit.”

From Tolkien.

Orphaned as a child, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (Harry Gilby) is left with only his brother (Guillermo Bedward) and memories of the fantastic stories she told to remember their mother (Laura Donnelly).  Their guardian, Father Francis (Colm Meaney) places them in the care of the elderly and rich Mrs. Faulkner (Pam Ferris) so the boys can attend a prestigious school.  While he is incredibly well-read and talented in languages, even ones that he has created, John is initially an outcast among the other students until he meets and befriends three boys, Robert (Albie Marber), Christopher (Ty Tennant), and Geoffrey (Adam Bregman).  The boys all bond over their love of and talent in the various arts, but as they grow up, John (Nicholas Hoult) also confides in Edith (Lily Collins) another orphan that Mrs. Faulkner houses.  While his friends (Patrick Gibson, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Anthony Boyle) prepare for college, John is torn between the responsibilities that Father Francis is holding him to and the love that he feels for Edith.  When a meeting with a Professor (Derek Jacobi) ignites a passion in John, he switches majors to further expand his language skills, but the arrival of World War I changes the world and Tolkien’s life forever.  However, through it all, John is still able to see bits of his writing brought to life and developed all around him.

The pacing of this biography is steady and engaging; using flashbacks, the viewer is able to follow Tolkien’s life and motivation easily through the film.  The movie does focus more on the story of how Tolkien came to write his famous fantasy stories and less on how he wrote the books, even though that is highlighted, as well.  Hoult is a captivating lead, easily capturing the endearing, energetic, and brilliant mind of Tolkien.  There are several scenes on the battlefields of WWI that are intense, but otherwise, Tolkien is an inspiring look back at the life of one of the world’s most famous authors that all ages can enjoy.

| Rated: PG-13 | Running Time: 112 minutes |Genre: drama/biography/romance |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 1 of 10|Nudity: 1 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 4 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|