Fox Searchlight has released a new trailer for the upcoming biopicTolkien, and honestlyJ.R.R. Tolkiencan get it. Of course it helps when you have someone likeNicholas Houltfilling the role, who’s both incredibly talented and, let’s face it, really, really ridiculously good looking.
Jokes aside, this movie looks quite interesting. Written byDavid GleesonandStephen Beresford, it appears to chronicle the life of the famousLord of the Ringsauthor through the lens of the experiences that influenced his greatest work. That includes his friendships, romantic relationships, and most strikingly his time serving during World War I, which was a major influence on the entireLord of the Ringssaga. Finnish filmmakerDome Karukoskiweaves in imagery fromLord of the Rings—a risky prospect given how iconicPeter Jackson’s film trilogy is—and it’s quite haunting to see a Smaug-like dragon on a World War I battlefield.
Biopics are tricky, and recently the more successful ones have chosen a single event or limited timespan to capture a person’s essence rather than going the “cradle-to-grave” route.Tolkienlooks to be encapsulating quite a bit of Tolkien’s life, so I’m curious to see how this one turns out.
Check out the newTolkientrailer below. The film also starsLily Collins,Colm Meaney,Anthony Boyle,Patrick Gibson,Tom Glynn-Carney,Craig Robets,Laura Donnelly,Genevieve O’Reilly,Pam Ferris, andDerek Jacobi.Tolkienopens in theaters on May 10th.
Here’s the official synopsis forTolkien:
TOLKIEN explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-Earth novels.
