Review: The Man Who Knew Infinity

Based on a true story, Matt Brown's THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY may try a little too hard at times, but it will still stir your soul.

The story follows Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel), a young man in Madras, India, who has no formal education to his name, yet harbors a brilliant mind, seeing mathematical equations like they are paintings. Ramanujan is desperate to publish his work, but continually hits dead ends -- until he receives a letter from G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), a professor at Cambridge University. Hardy takes the ambitious mathematician under his wing, bringing him to England to get published.

There are complications -- many at the university look down on him for being a foreigner, and he has the additional tax of being separate from his wife -- their culture technically forbids them to cross the seas. And Ramanujan and Hardy's differing personalities are a point of contention: while Hardy calls himself an atheist, relying heavily on proofs, Ramanujan believes his abilities come from God, and is very reluctant to prove himself by finding the proofs that Hardy demands of him.

Though the film gets slightly over-sentimental at times, Ramanujan's journey is a fascinating story of passion and prayer. Backed by a stunning Indian soundtrack, the film is beautifully shot, and gives you a snippet of history. THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY starts May 13 at Midtown Cinema!

Ramanujan loves form for its own sake -- "an art unto itself," Hardy describes.