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Feb 16, 2020MichelleinBallard rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
There are some troubling problems with this film. First, Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic whose faith influenced his life and shaped his most famous works. He described *The Lord of the Rings* as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision." Little or none of this comes through in the film. To be clear, a clumsy or heavy-handed representation of Tolkien's faith would probably have been equally as bad, if not worse. Second, Father Francis Morgan became the guardian of Tolkien and his brother when their mother died when J. R. R. was twelve, leaving the two boys orphans. Tolkien was very close to Fr. Morgan describing him as "a guardian who had been a father to me, more than most fathers" and he said, "I first learned charity and forgiveness from him." For so important a figure in Tolkien's life Fr. Morgan is scarcely portrayed in the film. Third, Tolkien resisted going off to fight "The Great War", seeking and receiving a one-year deferment. By his own account, he might have put it off even longer but for the strong familial and social pressure he was under. Again, none of this is portrayed in the film. He would later become an anti-imperialist with self-avowed anarchist leanings and was no ardent fan of WW II either. Finally, in real life Tolkien married Edith Bratt about six weeks before he shipped out to France. The film inexplicably shows them still unmarried after he returns from Europe. I can understand some dramatic license in cinematic depictions of the lives of real people but this film perniciously diverges too far from the truth. P.S. No, I'm not now nor have I ever been a Roman Catholic.