The Professor and the Madman is a biographical drama film based on the non-fiction book "The Surgeon of Crowthorne" by Simon Winchester. Starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn in the leading roles, it takes an otherwise improbable subject for onscreen treatment and turns it into something surprisingly entertaining.
In 1872 in London, retired US Army doctor William Chester Minor (Sean Penn) is put on trial for the murder of an innocent man but is later found not guilty by reason of insanity and is sent to Broadmoor Mental Asylum. Meanwhile in Oxford, Professor James Murray (Mel Gibson) is given the monumental task of overseeing and editing a collection of every word used in the English language. In an attempt to aid him in this difficult assignment, Murray sends out written appeals to as many English speakers as possible around the world to contribute their own definitions of words. One of these appeals finds its way to Broadmoor, which Minor comes into possession of and decides to send in over 10,000 entries, some of which are of incredibly obscure and rarely used words. Stunned by these unique contributions, Murray decides to meet with Minor and the two form an unlikely partnership in creating what would later become the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
On paper, the origins of the first English dictionary ever conceived sounds like it would never work as a film in the broadest of terms. However, thanks to the efforts of the great acting from its two leads and the proper treatment of its historical subject matter, "The Professor and the Madman" succeeds on screen for the most part. Throughout the film, we are reminded how large the English language truly is and how every contribution counts towards us gaining a better understanding of the importance of expanding our vocabularies. While I wouldn't say it's essential to have an unyielding love of etymology (the study of words) like I do, I believe it certainly comes in handy when watching something like this. Personally, I'm part of that niche audience who likes films about historical events no matter how overlooked they are so I can't really speak for all potential viewers out there. With that in mind though, I think there is enough for casual filmgoers to appreciate that shouldn't bore them too much.
Director Farhad Safinia, who previously collaborated with Mel Gibson in 2006's "Apocalypto", juggles the two intersecting plotlines of a schizophrenic doctor and an Oxford professor with varying degrees of success. He chooses to juxtapose the character of Dr. Minor, whose brilliant mind has been permanently damaged by his civil war PTSD, with that of the steadfast Professor Murray, who has a strong determination to complete what he has been assigned with, and this combination of conflicting personalities is what drove things along for me. The anticipation of knowing that these two will eventually meet and decide to work together makes for an intriguing story and had me curious as to how it will turn out. There were times, though, where it felt like moments of sensationalism were added in simply for entertainment purposes rather than as a means to advance the plot. For example, there were some long and drawn out scenes involving Dr. Minor's collapsing mental state that felt unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the story. Thankfully these weren't too frequent but they still left an unfavourable impression on me and likely anyone else who might be watching.
Both Sean Penn and Mel Gibson played their roles convincingly and had solid onscreen chemistry with one another. Their personal lives aside, I still think the two of them are great actors capable of holding the viewer's attention even through some of the most exposition laden of scenes. Penn has always had a knack for playing mentally unstable characters capable of bouts of impulsiveness whereas Mel Gibson has often shone as reserved individuals whose unpredictable nature may or may not be acted upon. This film uses their talents to its advantage and it comes as a surprise that this is the first time the two have starred alongside each other as their interactions felt uncannily natural to watch. I wouldn't mind seeing more films with these two actors in the future should they ever choose to work together again.
Overall, while casual viewers may be put off by the concept of a film about the origins of the dictionary, I think there should be a select few out there who will appreciate the efforts in bringing such an important but neglected historical event to the big screen. It's easy to take for granted the language that over 20% of the world's population speaks but it's nice to know that a film like this exists to help show us that it can still make for something entertaining. I do wonder, however, if there will be a spiritual sequel involving the creation of the Thesaurus. I guess we'll have to wait and see/view/perceive/observe/watch...
I rate it 7/10
