England, early 20th century. The future writer and philologist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) and three of his schoolmates create a strong bond between them as they share the same passion for literature and art, a true fellowship that strengthens as they grow up, but the outbreak of World War I threatens to shatter it.
Cinematography
Gaslit Birmingham streets dissolve into dragon smoke.
Score
Thomas Newman channels the Shire before it existed.
Costume
Edwardian tailoring so crisp you'll weep.
Director
Dome Karukoski
Nicholas Hoult
J.R.R. Tolkien
Lily Collins
Edith Bratt
Colm Meaney
Father Francis Morgan
Derek Jacobi
Professor Joseph Wright
Harry Gilby
Young J.R.R. Tolkien
Mimi Keene
Young Edith Bratt
Anthony Boyle
Geoffrey Bache Smith
Adam Bregman
Young Geoffrey Bache Smith
Patrick Gibson
Robert Q. Gilson
Tom Glynn-Carney
Christopher Wiseman
Ty Tennant
Young Christopher Wiseman
Craig Roberts
Private Sam Hodges
Pam Ferris
Mrs. Faulkner
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Tolkien estate publicly disavowed this film, calling it 'no derivation of Tolkien's works' — which arguably makes it more fascinating as unauthorized mythmaking.
The real TCBS (Tea Club and Barrovian Society) was even more intense than portrayed; Tolkien carried their deaths literally into the trenches where he began writing the earliest Middle-earth stories.
US
