The Oxford Murders (2008)

At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try to stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols.

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia (as Alex de la Iglesia)

Writers:

Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay) (as Alex de la Iglesia), Jorge Guerricaechevarría (screenplay) (as Jorge Guerricachevarria)

Stars:

Elijah Wood, John Hurt, Leonor Watling

6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elijah Wood	...	Martin
John Hurt	...	Arthur Seldom
Leonor Watling	...	Lorna
Julie Cox	...	Beth
Jim Carter	...	Inspector Petersen
Alex Cox	...	Kalman
Burn Gorman	...	Yuri Podorov
Dominique Pinon	...	Frank
Anna Massey	...	Mrs. Eagleton
Danny Sapani	...	Scott
Alan David	...	Mr. Higgins
Tim Wallers	...	Defense Lawyer
James Weber Brown	...	Doctor
Ian East	...	Howard Green
Charlotte Asprey	...	Howard Green's Wife

Storyline

Martin (Elijah Wood), a PhD student in mathematics, enrolls at Oxford in the hope of meeting his mentor, Professor Arthur Seldom (Sir John Hurt). The young man manages to find lodging at Mrs. Eagleton's (Anna Massey's), but in this house, a stifling atmosphere prevails due to the landlady's attitude. Indeed Mrs. Eagleton, who happens to be a friend of Seldom's, is a haughty and unsympathetic woman who also stifles her daughter Beth (Julie Cox). At the university, things do not fare much better as Martin is put in his place by his idol during one of Seldom's lectures. But his private life changes for the best as he starts an affair with Lorna (Leonor Watling), a beautiful girl he met during a game of squash. One night, Seldom and Martin, who find themselves at Mrs. Eagleton's, discover her dead body. They are interrogated by the Police. Soon afterwards, they decide to lead their own private investigation.

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Plot Keywords:

mathematics | year 1993 | 1990s | riding a bicycle | university of oxford | 

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content/nudity and some violence/disturbing images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Michael Caine was approached by Writer, Producer, and Director Álex de la Iglesia to play the lead role. Jeremy Irons was also considered for this part that, ultimately, went to Sir John Hurt.

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Goofs

Towards the end when the bus with the kids crashes, first you see it totally engulfed in flames but then when they go back to it a minute or two later only the front of the bus is on fire and the rest of the bus is still white and not burned.

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Quotes

Lorna: You're like two kids fighting over a ball.
Arthur Seldom: And you're the ball?
Lorna: No, I'm the nurse who's going to spank your bottoms if you don't shut up.

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Crazy Credits

The background to the credits sequence is a representation of a blackboard full of equations and mathematical formulae.

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Connections

Referenced in Teen Wolf: The Tell (2011)

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Soundtracks

Ricercar A 3
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach (uncredited)
Performed by Barthold Kuijen
Courtesy of Sony BMG Music Entertainment Spain

User Reviews

Mysterious murders connected by mathematics and strange symbols

This murders series story full of turns and twists concerns about an US student named Martin (Elijah Wood) who goes to Oxford University for a doctoral thesis . There contacts a veteran professor named Seldom (John Hurt) and join forces to investigate a murders series . Professor and pupil differ the points of view about numbers and on the influence of the treatise logical-philosophical by Wiggenstein , the greatest book of 20th century . The grisly killings are apparently linked to mysterious code , semiotics, and rare symbols.

This mystery murder picture blends thriller , suspense, tension , plot-twists as well as an intriguing script delving on mathematics-philosophical theories . The film works on various levels and is constantly reconfigured , however contains some embarrassing and contriving moments and also certain confusion . Poorly developing love story between Elijah Wood and Leonor Watling . Strong performance by John Hurt (role was firstly approached by Michael Caine and Jeremy Irons) and excellent plethora of secondaries as Julie Cox (Dune) , the veteran actress Anna Massey , the nice French player Dominique Pinon (City of lost children) and Jim Carter as the Police Inspector . Interesting screenplay by Javier Guerricoacheverria , Alex de La Iglesia's usual writer . Atmospheric cinematography by Kiko De La Rica with a good camera work . Suspenseful musical score by Roque Baños who appears as an orchestra conductor . The motion picture is well directed by Alex De La Iglesia . He's a cool director who had got much success such as ¨Accion Mutante¨ , ¨Day of beast¨ and ¨Perlita Durango¨, and winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars) , however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA , but he has strong followers . This is without a doubt a mysterious and thought-provoking movie to be enjoyed for suspense and thrillers fans .

Details

Country:

Spain UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los crímenes de Oxford

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,191, 8 August 2010

Gross USA:

$4,803

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,646,627

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+ España, Canal+, Eurimages

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1