Director: Matt Brown
Writer: Matt Brown (Screenplay) Robert Kanigel (Biography)
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Dev Patel, Devika Bhise, Stephen Fry, Toby Jones, Jeremy Northam, San Shella
Plot: The story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Very Important Story
Story: The Man Who Knew Infinity starts as we meet Srinivasa Ramanujan (Patel) as he struggles to impress for a job to support his wife Janaki (Bhise). When he final gets a chance he finds himself working for Sir Francis Spring (Fry) where he gets encouraged to explore his mathematic skills over the world.
With all of his skills Srinivasa reaches out to G.H. Hardy (Irons) to try and correct some of his most famous work and this brings Hardy’s attention and after talking it through with his associate Littlewood (Jones) Hardy brings him to England.
Reaching England Srinivasa gets pushed around by the fellow lecturers and students with his relationship with Hardy being the only thing keeping him there as the two go out to prove to the world just what they can do. Even after the war breaks out and the racist nature of the surrounding citizens in England won’t bring down Srinivasa.
The Man Who Knew Infinity gives us the story of one of the greatest minds the world never got everything from. The name could easily be glossed over but what he achieved is important to maths and its theories today. While elements of the film are made to be more enjoyable the basic concepts behind the man himself are clear to see, while I would have liked to have seen slightly more of his wife’s struggle with both before and during his time away as this side is very important to how much risked for this chance I can understand that this side of the story wouldn’t have be recorded as easily as his time in England. I think each actor gives us a great performance without ever trying to outshine any other character on the screen.
Overall: This is an important history lesson that I wish everyone could see just to show how much he risked to change the world.
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