The Man Who Knew Infinity Movie Review

STORY: Srinivasa Ramanujan had the extraordinary ability to conjure up very complex and groundbreaking mathematical concepts seemingly out of thin air. And all of that, despite not having any formal training in the subject. He hailed from a humble background, and was nurtured and mentored to greatness by another brilliant mathematician, G H Hardy. This is Ramanujan’s story.

REVIEW: The biggest challenge Matthew Brown could have faced when making this film might have been making math look interesting enough on screen to keep viewers hooked. But he manages to do so, thanks to Patel’s fairly straightforward portrayal of the brilliant Ramanujan. That, and the stately Jeremy Irons, who gives Hardy oodles of wit and panache. In fact, more than just a staid version one man’s life, The Man Who Knew Infinity is also about the meeting of two minds – Hardy and Ramanujan.

Ramanujan’s Madras phase is portrayed somewhat briskly, with the rest of the film dealing with his life in England. Ramanujan’s wife (Bhise) is shown to be devoted and caring. The person is a counterfoil to his world of numbers and theoretical mathematics. In order to make his passion accessible to her, he compares math to art. But bigger things are in store for him. After landing a job as an accountant, Ramanujan’s boss convinces him to think beyond the shores of India. So when he takes a shot in the dark by sending Hardy a thick notebook filled with his work, the latter is impressed enough to get him on a ship and over to Trinity College. While hugely impressed by his genius, Hardy insists that Ramanujan supply proofs for his work. A deconstruction of his findings, as to Hardy’s mind, groundbreaking theoretical mathematics isn’t just pulled out from a hat. After all, Hardy wonders, where on earth do those formulas come from?

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