Srinivasa
Ramanujan Iyengar does all he can to be admitted to Cambridge University during
WWI, despite growing up poor in Madras, India. Having successfully enrolled in
the university, he studies nothing but mathematics, eventually becoming a
pioneer in mathematical theories with the guidance of his professor, G.H.
Hardy.
Written and
directed by Matthew Brown, The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of
friendship that forever changed mathematics. In 1913, Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev
Patel), a self-taught Indian mathematics genius, traveled to Trinity College,
Cambridge, where over the course of five years, forged a bond with his mentor,
the brilliant and eccentric professor, G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), and fought
against prejudice to reveal his mathematic genius to the world. The film also
stars Devika Bhise, Stephen Fry and Toby Jones. This is Ramanujan's story as
seen through Hardy's eyes.
Knuckling
down to a considerably more rigorous intellectual challenge than he faced in
Slumdog Millionaire, Patel plays the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan,
whose research in the field of number theory took English academe by storm
around the time of the First World War.
Growing up
poor in Madras, India, Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar earns admittance to
Cambridge University during WWI, where he becomes a pioneer in mathematical
theories with the guidance of his professor, G.H. Hardy.
Rather, the friction between Hardy and Ramanujan has to do with methodology. Hardy insists that his new colleague must prove his theories through traditional means; Ramanujan disagrees. At stake is nothing less than the future, and the meaning, of mathematics.
Patel is a difficult actor to have complete faith in, and he does way too much clenching of his jaw in suppressed indignation, welling eyes darting left and right as he absorbs the latest blow. That said, his very light weight gives him purchase on this role – coming across as overawed by all the marble busts and gowns and rival egos, once he’s moved to Cambridge, is rather a natural mode for him to stake out.
ReplyDeleteAt all the film’s emotional peaks, Hardy struggles to meet Ramanujan’s gaze, retreating from eye contact into a stricken, hidden place that feels true to a certain brainy English personality.
When Ramanujan is leaving, Hardy mentions he took a cab with an uninteresting number: 1729. Ramanujan says that 1729 is interesting because it is the smallest integer that can be summed by two cubes of integers in two different ways. The integers and the sums are 1 and 12, and 9 and 10. (1 + 1728, and 729 + 1000). At the end of the movie, Hardy chooses to take cab, with the number plate "CE1729".
ReplyDeleteSuperb direction from Matt Brown with incredible sets and locations, especially location at Trinity College. Thought about the diversity issue facing the Academy and after seeing this movie, realized it was an issue for a brilliant mind like the lead against the English back in the day. The effort it took to make this film on a tight budget with incredible locations is a credit to the entire crew!
ReplyDeleteThe multiplexes are full of films that promise little more than a forgettable good time. "The Man Who Knew Infinity" is just as entertaining, but far more substantial.
Infinity is a sturdy, respectable film, but it never takes chances or ventures outside viewers' biopic comfort zones.
ReplyDeleteIt fills a hole in popular scientific knowledge, and does so with a measure of grace and good humour.
What purports to be a celebration of the power of numbers should by all rights be the opposite of math-phobic. However, the filmmakers behind “The Man Who Knew Infinity” didn’t want to make their movie feel like homework. But an account of a remarkable person should strive to be as equally remarkable as its subject, not the timid and tidy boilerplate special of a biopic that “The Man Who Knew Infinity” too often resembles.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, a final-act triumph of sorts is all but assured. And, thanks in large part to Irons and Patel, audiences will be moved. But even they can’t hide the fact that “The Man Who Knew Infinity” is missing some essential elements in its true-story equation. Sometimes, engaging the brain can be as equally essential as touching the heart.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, there is a pervasive corniness about the dialogue and the scenarios in this film.
It is just like other recent movies with a science and mathematics theme – The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, X + Y – it seems the only plan for making this material accessible to a popular audience is to treat the story as a romance, with the underlying suggestion that scientists are people just like us. It will probably remain this way until someone manages to make theorems seem sexy.
ReplyDeleteDespite having an expected plot, the movie is strong and pleasant with a brilliant story and excellent acting.