By Mark HadleyMonday 9 May 2016The Big PictureMoviesReading Time: 2 minutes
The Man Who Knew Infinity is a period piece set immediately preceding and during WW1. Dev Patel stars as Ramanujan, a man who was almost a beggar in Madras, but who possessed the sort of mind that could instinctively see the most complex mathematical solutions to problems others could barely understand. He comes to Cambridge and faces all sorts of racism and resentment — but his biggest challenge is meeting his supervising Professor G.H. Hardy’s (Jeremy Irons) demand that he work to prove his theories.
RATED: The Man Who Knew Infinity is rated PG for mild themes.
AUDIENCE: A must-see for people interested in science-centred history films like A Beautiful Mind for instance, or Creation, or more recently The Theory of Everything.
WHAT’S GOOD: A brilliant experience for those who love fine acting – Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons are excellent together. Much more than that, it is a well balanced discussion of science vs. spirituality where religious people aren’t easily knocked down straw men.
WHAT’S NOT: This is a slow-burning story — some might say slow.
SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING: In the process of working together, Hardy (a solid atheist) comes to develop a deep respect for Ramanujan (a deeply religious man), who tells him that there is not point in mathematics for mathematics sake: “A formula has no beauty to me unless it reveals a thought of God.” A surprisingly religious, faith-filled film.
RELEASE DATE: It opened May 5 and is currently releasing in select cinemas around the country – best thing to do, check the Internet.