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The Man Who Knew Infinity

Play trailer 2:30 Poster for The Man Who Knew Infinity PG-13 Released Apr 29, 2016 1h 54m Biography History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 131 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In 1913, brilliant East Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) travels to Trinity College in England to work with professor G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons).
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The Man Who Knew Infinity

The Man Who Knew Infinity

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Critics Consensus

The Man Who Knew Infinity might be a tad too conventional to truly do its subject justice, but Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons elevate the end result beyond mere biopic formula.

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Critics Reviews

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Udita Jhunjhunwala Livemint The Man Who Knew Infinity is moving, but not as compelling as the real life story of the genius it celebrates. The definitive film on Ramanujan remains to be made... Aug 15, 2019 Full Review Roxana Hadadi Chesapeake Family Magazine Conventional biopic The Man Who Knew Infinity focuses less on its protagonist, the Indian mathematician S. Ramanujan, than on the Brits who worked with him. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 2, 2016 Full Review Marsha Lederman Globe and Mail When one of the most enlightening moments of a film comes during the postscript (black holes!), you know there's a problem - one that has nothing to do with math. Rated: 2/4 May 20, 2016 Full Review Olly Richards NME (New Musical Express) It feels too often like an exam for which we haven't studied. Rated: 2/5 Jun 8, 2021 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse A bit by the numbers but nonetheless deserves a place on the shelf between A Beautiful Mind and The Imitation Game . Rated: 3/5 Feb 3, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com A deeply intelligent film that doesn't shy away from its intelligence. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 15, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jonathan P My personal favorite part from this film was when Ramanujan's teacher is angry because he refuses to demonstrate his work or explain how he arrived at his conclusions. The teacher, unable to comprehend how Ramanujan can answer hard problems without using the standard stages, chastises him for arrogance and dismisses his techniques as incorrect. The acting in that scene shows how the main character was feeling after because his professor told him he didn't belong there. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/04/24 Full Review Jalene P Similar vein to other academic favorites like A Beautiful Mind, Oppenheimer and Good Will Hunting. Sad and inspiring---lost another genius far too young. I cant help but wonder is some of the poor reviews may hold some intrinsic biases... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/06/23 Full Review Reuben M In the years just before and during WWI, Srinivasa Ramanujan was making major contributions to the world of the mathematics, although many were not fully recognized until late in his brief career. I am not a mathematician myself, so I feel no great shame in admitting that I had never heard of him. But now, with THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY, I am familiar with his story and while I'm not much closer to understanding the math that came to him so easily, I am glad to have learned about him and am glad, in general, that a film was made which will help keep his name out there. In brief, Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematician, a prodigy, living his early adulthood in India, where he essentially hit the top of what he could learn there. Fortunately, some of his work reached British mathematician and Cambridge instructor G.H. Hardy (played here by Jeremy Irons, giving his very best affable Jeremy Irons performance…sincere and with the most beautiful diction. Not a criticism…just saying Irons has perfected this kind of role). The movie spends a lot of time on the obstacles Ramanujan faced (Dev Patel plays him with a somewhat feverish passion. He seems to know his time is limited and is bursting with impatience at everything because he doesn't have the TIME to do things the formal way or the "correct" way). His struggles to get out of India into an institution that might help him grow. His struggles to be together with his wife. His struggles to find food to eat in a society that has no understanding of what a vegetarian is. His struggles to understand the need to PROVE his work. His struggles with pompous Brits who look down their noses at him. And his many struggles with poor health. Don't take from my tone that this isn't a compelling movie. While it is largely peopled with "nerds", these nerds are all very different from each other, and much of the drama comes from the simple clashing of styles. First, between Ramanujan and Hardy, his closest mentor. Patel & Irons have great chemistry and spend a lot of time arguing over the need for these proofs. Ramanujan just KNOWS his ideas are correct; he SEES it clearly in his mind. But he has no training in (and little patience for) the formality of providing proofs that others can see, understand and replicate. Unless these things resonate for you, there will always be a little emotional remove from the subjects under discussion. But Irons and Patel sell the heck out of it, so it's easy to go along for the ride. There's also an interesting relationship between Hardy and his best friend and fellow mathematician, John Littlewood (the always excellent Toby Jones). The cast is peppered with other terrific actors such as Stephen Fry and Jeremy Northam, so if you're a fan of Brit-heavy drama, this film feels like a warm comforter thrown around you. Lots of British wit, and stiff-upper lip reserve and lovely scenery. Patel bursts through all this like a bull in a china shop (though a sickly one) and it does make for some low key fireworks. It's far from the best bio-pic out there, but it's a very solid, engaging, interesting and well-crafted film that I encourage anyone to seek out. The main characters deserve to be remembered, and the film deserves to be seen. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/24/23 Full Review Emma W A good effort at championing a genius who should be as well known as Stephen Hawking. Definitely worth a watch and leaves you wanting to know more about his life and accomplishments. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review Nicolas P All the parts of the movie felt bad executed. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 08/20/23 Full Review Kerry W Rating: 7/10. 71/100 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Man Who Knew Infinity

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1913, brilliant East Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) travels to Trinity College in England to work with professor G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons).
Director
Matthew Brown
Producer
Edward R. Pressman, Jim Young, Joe Thomas, Matthew Brown, Sofia Sondervan, Jon Katz
Screenwriter
Matthew Brown
Distributor
IFC Films
Production Co
Edward R. Pressman Film Corp., Animus Films
Rating
PG-13 (Some Thematic Elements|Smoking)
Genre
Biography, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 29, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 24, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.9M
Runtime
1h 54m
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