L'Homme qui défiait l'infini

"The Man Who Knew Infinity" is a very unlikely film for me to love. After all, the film is about a brilliant Indian mathematician who I never heard about and lacks most of the usual story elements I look forward to seeing in a movie. And yet, inexplicably, I found myself loving the picture and recommend you give it a try. It's just debuted on DVD and is also available through Netflix.

The film begins in India just before WWI. A poor man with little education, Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel), has apparently taught himself advanced mathematics....and I am not just talking about Algebra and Geometry. It seems this man somehow naturally understood numbers in a way very, very have ever done and today he's seen as one of the foremost men in the field...ever! This film is about his life just before his work was discovered as well as his time spent at Cambridge, working with the famous mathematics professor, G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons). The film covers the prejudices Ramanujan encountered as well as the initial difficulty getting folks to even consider that he could be right when it came to his theories.

I know my very brief description sounds very dull...but somehow it isn't. Somehow, the writing, acting and the entire production screams quality and manages to be quite entertaining as well as uplifting. It's also nice to see Dev Patel in yet another excellent film, as this young man seems to have a real knack for picking film projects (such as his appearing in "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Chappie"). As for Irons, he is, as usual, amazing...as is Toby Jones. A very, very strange film....and I mean that in the most positive of ways. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try.

Just saw "The Man Who Knew Infinity" at The Sun Valley Film Festival. So happy to see quality films make their US premiere in Sun Valley. Kudos to the non profit group. Must see movie with outstanding story, production and casting led by J. Irons. Independent films like these deserve to be seen & noticed. Opens NY/LA late April. Superb 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!

So far, 21st century biopics have been very kind to real-life 20th century scientists and mathematicians. Some of them were fairly well-known before getting the big-screen treatment and some… not so much. 2016 offers up "The Man Who Knew Infinity" (PG-13, 1:48), a biopic about the most famous genius you probably never heard of. Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan may not have the international renown of Stephen Hawking (featured in 2014's "The Theory of Everything") and the cinematic portrayal of Ramanujan's life may not offer the gravitas of helping to win World War II ("The Imitation Game", also from 2014), the mass appeal of a sports backdrop (2011's "Moneyball"), the excitement of a heist film ("21" in 2008), the controversy of early sex research (2004's "Kinsey") or the Oscar cred of a Best Picture winner ("A Beautiful Mind", from 2001), but "The Man Who Knew Infinity" brings us a story of tenacity, triumph and tragedy in the world of mathematics that deserves its own moment of discovery.

Popular British actor (of Indian descent) Dev Patel (from "Slumdog Millionaire" and the "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" movies) plays Ramanujan, a young Indian man who fought prejudice and overcame numerous other obstacles in order to bring his particular genius to light. With little formal education and struggling to survive financially in the eastern Indian city of Madras (now, Chennai), he pursues his fascination with numbers by developing mathematical theorems that should've been well beyond the ability of someone from such humble circumstances. The only way for his highly advanced abilities to really develop further and for his discoveries to have meaning and a lasting impact, is to get help from leading mathematicians outside India. Leaving India, however, would violate his strict Hindu beliefs and cause him to leave his young wife, Janaki (Devika Bhise), and his mother (Arundhati Nag), who has no other surviving children. It's a lot to overcome, but Ramanujan's genius must be shared with the world.

A letter from Ramanujan to British mathematician G. H. Hardy (Oscar winner Jeremy Irons) impresses Hardy so much, he invites Ramanujan to join him at Cambridge University's Trinity College. With help from his friend and colleague, John Littlewood (Toby Jones), Hardy works to fill in the gaps in the young Ramanujan's education so the men can maximize what they can accomplish together. Ramanujan chafes under Hardy's rigid approach to developing his abilities, but the two eventually reach a happy medium between Hardy's insistence on "academic rigor" and Ramanujan's need to follow his intuition as far and fast as he can. The protracted fight that was World War I further complicates Hardy and Ramanujan's working relationship, as do religious differences between them, poor treatment of Ramanujan by some at Trinity, his long-term separation from his wife and mother and Ramanujan's own health problems.

"The Man Who Knew Infinity" makes its difficult subject matter relatable and entertaining, while enlightening and educating its audience. I, for one, had no idea that the modern world of mathematics was so intricate and deep. The script by Matthew Brown (based on Robert Kanigel's book of the same name) gives us just enough of the math (and simply enough) that we understand the uniqueness of Ramanujan's gifts and the importance of his work, but rightly concentrates on the more personal stories of the individuals who were involved in this real-life drama. The challenges of Ramanujan's interpersonal relationships in Cambridge are interspersed with scenes between his wife and mother back in India, reminding us of the sacrifices made by Ramanujan and others so that he could make a difference. Brown also directs and does a good job at making this little-known story accessible and interesting and he is helped by excellent performances from his entire cast, especially Irons and Patel. It may not be "The Imitation Game" or "A Beautiful Mind", but "The Man Who Knew Infinity" is worth getting to know. "B+"

An important film; cleverly mixing a love story with the equally deep themes of moral obligations on privilege to raise those without. At first I was concerned I would not be able to disassociate Dev Patel from the role on Marigold Hotel, but after a few lines which sounded too contemporary, he improved significantly.

Jeremy Irons was captivating and the other roles adequately developed. The direction, pace, setting, wardrobe, story, score -all hold the attention.

When I watched it, at the end, the audience applauded. In fact at the end of it, one wishes it could last longer - craving more.

The Man Who Knew Infinity is a lush, romantic biopic in the tradition of Hollywood's grand biographical melodramas of yesteryear. It is broadly accurate, if rather sentimental, but also somewhat superficial. We're constantly told that Ramanujan's work is important and ground- breaking, yet the screenplay mostly fails to demonstrate why this is so. We're shown how difficult life is for a vegetarian in England during the Great War, yet, oddly, it's never explicitly stated that the resulting vitamin deficiencies contributed directly to Ramanujan's demise. But for me the biggest flaw is the misplaced romance between Ramanujan and his wife, Janaki, when the more compelling romance is the intellectual one that unfolds between Ramanujan and G.H. Hardy. In reality, Janaki was nine or ten when Ramanujan married her in 1909, and only 14 or 15 when he left India for England. She was certainly not the ripe beauty portrayed in the film, and there is no real evidence that their arranged marriage was any kind of grand passion. The film is also strangely coy in avoiding any direct reference to Hardy's homosexuality. Perhaps the writer was being scrupulous about not implying any sexual aspect to the relationship with Ramanujan. Whatever the reason, it's an omission that makes Hardy less dimensional and airbrushes his sexuality from history as completely as a 1950s Hollywood biopic might have done. That aside, Jeremy Irons gives what might well be the best performance of his career as Hardy. It's a compelling and deeply touching portrayal. More surprisingly, Dev Patel - after a series of exuberant but lightweight performances - finally proves to be an actor with some depth and range. The film is also deftly directed, with some gorgeous cinematography.