The Man Who Knew Infinity
Just before World War I India was very much oppressed and under England’s thumb, so, when the brilliant mind of Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) emerged with revolutionary ideas in mathematics doubters and skeptics of the man were plentiful; were it not for the help of Cambridge University professor G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), there’s a strong chance Ramanujan would have taken his knowledge to the grave. Reaching for greatness and publishing were the goals, but just how much and how quickly would the world take notice?
Playing out as almost the Indian version of a Beautiful Mind Writer/Director Matt Brown has managed to put together a fantastic cast featuring a ton of England’s heavyweight talent including Toby Jones, Stephen Fry, Malcom Sinclair, Jeremy Northam, Richard Cunningham, the list goes on. Sadly, despite the talent of the ensemble and strong leading performances from Irons and Patel the overall story remains about as bland as traditional English cuisine, lacking any spice at all. Technically proficient, the film also manages to go through all of the motions of cinema without creating an extraordinary experience to equal that of the minds it’s attempting to reflect. The Man Who Knew Infinity is rated PG-13.