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, a PhD student in mathematics, enrolls at Oxford in the hope of meeting his mentor, Professor Seldom. The young man manages to find lodging at Mrs. Eagleton'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. 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, a beautiful girl he met during a game of squash. One night Seldom and Martin who find themselves at Mrs. Eagletons's discover her dead body. They are interrogated by the police. Soon afterwards they decide to lead their own private investigation...

---

Plot Keywords:

riding a bicycle | symbol | lecture | landlady | oxford university | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+ España,Canal+,Eurimages

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(At around one hour and eight minutes) Sir John Hurt's character dresses as Guy Fawkes for Guy Fawkes Day. In V for Vendetta (2005), a fake V removes his Guy Fawkes mask, revealing himself to be Adam Sutler, played by Sir John Hurt.

---

Goofs

(at around 1h 17 mins) After Prof. Wilkes finishes his presentation of his solution to Bormat's Last Theorem, the writing on the blackboard behind him changes.

---

Quotes

Arthur Seldom: Of all the vast mountains of knowledge that as of yet you have not scaled, Martin, this slope is one of the most slippery. Be careful.

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

References V for Vendetta (2005)

---

Soundtracks

The King of Denmark's Galiard
Written by John Dowland (uncredited)
Performed by The Forge Players featuring Freddie Wadling
Courtesy of Warner Music

User Reviews

Witty, refreshing and challenging.

The Oxford Murders from Alex de La Iglesia is a refreshing appearance on international releases. The opening's most stunning speech from brilliant John Hurt "There's no truth outside of mathematics... Philosophy is dead." begins a journey with an impeccable filmography. The uninterrupted shot following the main characters on the streets of Oxford, into the bookstore, and onto the streets again to end in the crime scene was perfect, and shows off the director's film-making skills. Elijah and Leonor are both rare specimens in today's one pattern acting and appearance, also I found there was no chemistry between them, they both did a great job only shadowed by John Hurt's impressive performance. This is really a film not to miss.