Tolkein

[SeaViewBliss]

Saw this tonight with DH. I really enjoyed it.

I didn’t know much about him and haven’t read his books . Nicholas Hoult was great.

Anyone seen it? What did you think?

Really enjoyed it too - big Tolkien fans here. I found it really moving (tho was best part of a bottle of red down by the end!)

It was OK - DH enjoyed it more than I did

To start with, I found it a bit weird that they had 18 year olds playing the 13 year olds and 28 year olds playing the 18 year olds.

There were a few giant signposts saying "Alert! Major influence on Tolkein's work here!"

However, the story grew on me, and I ended up feeling quite moved. Both Harry Gilby and Nicholas Hoult did well.

JRRT's biography is a great story in itself: penniless orphan to successful academic/writer; a secret society of talented idealistic young people; the tragic effect of the Great War and a romance that overcame obstacles.

I also liked the score, evolving from the sort of patriotic classical music that often accompanies war movies into a more ethereal sound we associate with the Elven scenes in Peter Jackson's films.

Just got home from watching it and loved it. Favourite bit other than the beautiful love story was when he knew his section of Chaucer off by heart.

The implied feelings on GBS's behalf - did they just pull that out of thin air or was it based on reality?

I'm surprised they didn't touch more on JRRT's faith. It was an intrinsic part of who he was.