The Oxford Murders

R

Released Aug 6, 2010

1 hr. 50 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

List

17%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

33%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

American math student Martin transfers to Oxford in the hope of persuading renowned philosopher Arthur Seldom to oversee his thesis, but the murder of Martin's landlady plunges the pair into a mathematical mystery. Could an "unsolvable" math problem provide the answers to their murderous conundrum?

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Ian B

Good actors with a tacky plot. Fun to watch and listen to John Hurt hamming up the role of brilliant Oxford Don. Jim Carter and Burn Gorman were also perfectly cast and did their best to carry the story. If you were ever a tourist or student in Oxford enthused by the antiquity and charm, there are a lot of scenes walking through the streets and inside the colleges. There were obvious references to Colin Dexter plots. But unfortunately there were too many trite melodramatic scenes and more a feeling of who cares than who dunnit that truly killed the joy for me.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/23

Full Review

Jelisije J

A very well done engaging who done it story with two men a student and teacher trying to discover the culprit in the string of murders while battling their own philosophies against each other.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/23

Full Review

Shaun E

The Oxford Murders was sufficiently entertaining for me not to write it off completely. Without trying to give too much away, the message of the film is beware of unintended consequences. Elijah Wood plays an obsessive and intelligent student who deliberately plans his way into a home of someone connected to the professor he admires. From there, a series of deaths is somehow connected by Pythagorean symbols. The plotline is somewhat contrived and convoluted, but this is also a necessity to deliver the ultimate outcome of the film. Of the multiple endings, the first was rushed and made little sense in that it would have never stood up to scrutiny had it not been for the second bus crash. I found that the ultimate ending contained at least one contradiction and was not as satisfactory as it should have been. Although there were no weaknesses in the acting, I found that the direction could have been stronger in delivering characters that felt more real. The chemistry between Martin and Lorna seemed somewhat forced, while the chemistry between Martin and Beth felt more natural. Given the ultimate relationships that were portrayed in each, perhaps the female roles should have been cast the other way. The film also feels somewhat dated looking at some of the emergency vehicles involved. Overall, a convoluted, but well paced mystery that is not what it seems.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

tom w

While I enjoyed watching it, by & large, I was not pleased with the ending. It was fake, a deus ex machina that was helicoptered in to wrap things up. Plausible, yes; but fair, not by a long shot. And how is that for a string of clichés?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Even though I am familiar with higher mathematics and its terminology, this movie is still like watching a foreign language film without subtitles. The movie and the mystery is made complex, just for complexity's sake. Through the entire film there is the theme that the murderer is trying to outsmart the professor and the police. Here, I think the filmmakers were more concerned with proving to the audience that they are smarter than making a quality movie that shows an expertise in filmmaking.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Gianmarco R

Films with amazing potential that are exploited in one of the worst possible ways and culminate in an ending that is pure garbage. Ultimately a waste of both time and ideas, really to be thrown away, an abnormal disappointment

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/08/21

Full Review

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Alex de la Iglesia

Director

Elijah Wood

Martin

John Hurt

Arthur Seldom

Leonor Watling

Lorna

Julie Cox

Beth

Jim Carter

Inspector

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Perri Nemiroff

Shockya.com

A poorly formulated story that's nearly impossible to understand and accept.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 13, 2010

Full Review

David Lewis

San Francisco Chronicle

This purported whodunit thriller never solves its main mystery: How and why did this film get made in the first place?

Rated: 1/4

Aug 13, 2010

Full Review

Jonathan Holland

Variety

A polished but verbose whodunit that's surprisingly buttoned-down given helmer Alex de la Inglesia's rep for comicbook wackiness.

May 22, 2008

Full Review

Luis Martínez

Cinemanía (Spain)

A duly international, duly orthodox, duly commercial production. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Oct 28, 2020

Full Review

Rossiter Drake

San Francisco Examiner

Hurt sells the silliness almost convincingly, but even from such a skillful pitchman it comes out sounding, finally, like junk.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 13, 2010

Full Review

Brent Simon

Shared Darkness

A math- and symbology-tinged thriller adapted by director Álex de la Iglesia, and pitched at a breakneck, didactic clip, absent any sensible, modulated emotional investment in the characters or material.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 9, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

American math student Martin transfers to Oxford in the hope of persuading renowned philosopher Arthur Seldom to oversee his thesis, but the murder of Martin's landlady plunges the pair into a mathematical mystery. Could an "unsolvable" math problem provide the answers to their murderous conundrum?

Director: Alex de la Iglesia
Screenwriter: Alex de la Iglesia, Jorge Guerricaechevarría
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Tornasol Films S.A., Telecinco Cinema
Rating: R (Some Disturbing Images|Sexual Content/Nudity|Language|Some Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 6, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 6, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.6K

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