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TOLKIEN ***
Dir: Dome Karukoski (12A, 122 mins)
The man behind The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit gets his own movie, though not a trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, in this functional biopic about J.R.R. Tolkien’s formative years. An impoverished childhood as an orphan, university days at Oxford and the horrors of World War I all shape the Middle Earth creator’s outlook on life. Harry Gilby plays the young Tolkien, creating fellowships with his fellow friends, escaping into his imagination. Nicolas Hoult then takes up the mantle as the student at Oxford, expanding his horizons with a love of made-up languages and literature, before the horrors of conflict add darker depths. Hoult is solid as the author caught up in world events, Lily Collins equally so as Edith, the woman with whom he falls in love with at his boarding house. There are cameos from Derek Jacobi as a supportive tutor and dragons imagined on the battlefields. It’s well-executed, providing some insight into the author, though ultimately it feels a little slight; perhaps his creativity does need a trilogy? Opens May 3
words Kieron Self