The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

The story of the life and academic career of the pioneer Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and his friendship with his mentor, Professor G.H. Hardy.

Director:

Matt Brown (as Matthew Brown)

Writers:

Matt Brown (screenplay), Matt Brown

Stars:

Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm Sinclair

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Irons	...	G.H. Hardy
Dev Patel	...	S. Ramanujan
Malcolm Sinclair	...	Professor Cartwright
Raghuvir Joshi	...	Narasimha
Dhritiman Chatterjee	...	Narayana Iyer (as Dhritiman Chaterji)
Stephen Fry	...	Sir Francis Spring
Arundathi Nag	...	Komalatammal
Devika Bhise	...	Janaki
Pádraic Delaney	...	Beglan
Toby Jones	...	John Edensor Littlewood
Jeremy Northam	...	Bertrand Russell
San Shella	...	Dr. Muthu
Richard Cunningham	...	Hobson
Thomas Bewley	...	Baker
Anthony Calf	...	Robert Alfred Herman

Storyline

In the 1910s, Srinivasa Ramanujan is a man of boundless intelligence that even the abject poverty of his home in Madras, India, cannot crush. Eventually, his stellar intelligence in mathematics and his boundless confidence in both attract the attention of the noted British mathematics professor, G.H. Hardy, who invites him to further develop his computations at Trinity College at Cambridge. Forced to leave his young wife, Janaki, behind, Ramanujan finds himself in a land where both his largely intuitive mathematical theories and his cultural values run headlong into both the stringent academic requirements of his school and mentor and the prejudiced realities of a Britain heading into World War One. Facing this with a family back home determined to keep him from his wife and his own declining health, Ramanujan joins with Hardy in a mutual struggle that would define Ramanujan as one of India's greatest modern scholars who broke more than one barrier in his worlds.

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Plot Keywords:

academic | mathematics | mathematical series | mentor protege relationship | trinity college cambridge | 

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Taglines:

Great knowledge comes from the humblest of origins

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Littlewood and Ramanujan enter the quadrangle in Trinity College, Littlewood points to the tree from which Newton's apple [supposedly] fell. But this incident, if true, most likely did not occur at Cambridge, which had been closed for a semester due to an outbreak of the Black Plague. Instead, it may have occurred at Newton's mother's farm, at which he spent the semester, and where, being quite impractical, he did very little farming, but no doubt engaged in much thinking.

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Goofs

Cambridge was not bombed by Zeppelins in World War I.

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Quotes

S. Ramanujan: [gazing at the umbrella Hardy is carrying in full sunlight] Sir, do you know something I do not?
G.H. Hardy: [sarcastically] Apparently not!
[realizing the question referred to his umbrella]
G.H. Hardy: Oh! God and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye. So if I prepare for rain, then it won't. So far, so good.
[bellowing at the sky]
G.H. Hardy: I'm Hardy. And I'm spending the afternoon in the Wren Library!
[speaking again to Ramanujan]
G.H. Hardy: Now we're sure to have sunshine. Hmph. You see, I am what you call an atheist.
S. Ramanujan: No, sir. You believe in God....

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Crazy Credits

Card before the title: "Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty." - Bertrand Russell

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.95 (2017)

User Reviews

Infinity is a sympathetic but rousing film on one of the greatest minds of all time – Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Before Albert Einstein there was Srinivasa Ramanujan - A little known fact outside India and the academic community, and precisely why this story had to be told. The Man Who Knew Infinity serves as a biopic behind the life and times of Ramanujan, a self-taught Indian Mathematician, who some say could decipher the very fabric of existence. It's a poignant film in as much as an emotional roller coaster but an extraordinary story told almost a century after Ramanujan's early and tragic death in 1920.

That's because Ramanujan was not only a mathematical prodigy by the age of 11, or that he could mentally compute complex permutations in a fraction of a second, but the fact that at the height of his powers, not many could fathom his genius. Not even the Cambridge scholars who elected him as a Fellow of the Royal Society and also a Fellow of Trinity College – monumental achievements for an Indian with no formal training in mathematics. Based on this true story and adapted from a 1991 book of the same name, writer/director Matthew Brown begins the film in 1914 Madras (back when Madras was rightly called Madras). Ramanujan (Dev Patel) comes from a poor Brahmin upbringing where even note paper is a luxury. He is seen frantically scribbling theorems on slate before sending samples of his work to intellectuals in Cambridge. Within an instant of receiving the latter's theories, Cambridge academic G. H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons) is not only astounded, but invites Ramanujan to study in England – both as his protégé and the missing link since Isaac Newton.

Forced to leave behind his young wife (Devika Bhise) with his mother, this would be the start of many of his problems but not before going on to make profound discoveries in his field of study. Close on the heels of The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game, 2014's Academy Award frontrunners, Brown's screenplay fits the bill as a rousing film with a lot of heart but not much insight. Instead, it's more of a sympathetic look at Ramanujan's poor background and the hardships he would encounter in England, including what looks like an over exaggerated and clichéd case of racial prejudice and a depressing long distance love story with his wife. What this means is Infinity is still a well-made film worthy of a thunderous applause, but does little to focus on Ramanujan's innate brilliance. However, from a storytelling perspective that's not really the director's fault. Consider the fact that almost a century after his death, intellectuals using modern day computers are still baffled by Ramanujan's integrals and integers. And only as recent as 2012 have scientists confirmed Ramanujan's incredible intuition that suggests the existence of black holes in deep space – a concept that was virtually unknown during his time.

"Intuition" is Ramanujan's answer to how he arrives at his conclusions, and the best moments in the film where Hardy forces Ramanujan to provide "proofs", or sequential steps to his formulae. Without proofs his theories are considered inconceivable and Ramanujan is often dismissed as a charlatan. To its merit, Infinity builds on the relationship between Hardy and Ramanujan, both extreme opposites in their beliefs but recluses who find solace and then inspiration in each other. Irons is perfectly cast as an outspoken atheist opposite Patel who believes his theories come from God. Their symbiotic chemistry builds towards a tearjerker of an ending while adding warmth and closure. Given that Ramanujan was known to be short and stout, Patel might seem like a strange casting choice yet captures his character with integrity and passion and in some ways, a beefier underdog akin to his breakout role in Slumdog Millionaire.

That The Man Who Knew Infinity is aimed as a crowd pleaser is obvious and it works well within this scope. And given the subject matter, this film should also do well in foreign markets, especially multiplexes in the Subcontinent and surrounding regions. What's more important, and hopefully so, is that the film brings out Ramanujan's true legacy shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Newton and Einstein. Time, as infinite as itself, will tell.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Tamil Sanskrit

Release Date:

29 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Man Who Knew Infinity

Filming Locations:

The Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$80,325, 1 May 2016

Gross USA:

$3,866,794

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,252,684

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward R. Pressman Film, Animus Films, Cayenne Pepper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1