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	...	Littlewood
Jeremy Northam	...	Bertrand Russell
San Shella	...	Dr. Muthu
Richard Cunningham	...	Hobson
Thomas Bewley	...	Baker
Anthony Calf	...	Howard

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 | india | mathematics | madras india | 1910s | 

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Taglines:

The true story of a limitless mind

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Tamil Sanskrit

Release Date:

29 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'Homme qui défiait l'infini

Filming Locations:

The Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$80,325, 1 May 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,866,794

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,158,142

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Throughout his life, Ramanujan was plagued by health problems. His health worsened in England. A 1994 analysis of Ramanujan's medical records and symptoms by Dr. D. A. B. Young concluded that it was much more likely he had hepatic amoebiasis, an illness then widespread in Madras, rather than tuberculosis. He had two episodes of dysentery before he left India. When not properly treated, dysentery can lie dormant for years and lead to hepatic amoebiasis. Amoebiasis was a treatable and often curable disease at the time.

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Goofs

Ramanujan arrives at Cambridge after the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose death on 28 June is reported in a newspaper which Hardy is reading, but before war is declared on 4 August. This period is the Long Vacation, when very few students are in Cambridge and no lectures are held. Despite this Ramanujan is ordered to attend lectures and we see him doing so in the company of other students.

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Quotes

S. Ramanujan: There are patterns in everything. The color in light, the reflections in water... in math, these patterns reveal themselves in the most incredible form. It's quite beautiful.

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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

You should not miss this for heavens sake

I saw this movie at the International Film Festival Of India (IFFI), Goa. Most anticipated film which I felt got over in no time. So beautifully directed, enthralling from the very first cut. This is so far the finest performance by Dev Patel. Without Jeremy Irons this film would have been toothless, seeing him for the first time I have never seen a character executed with such panache. Overall a film cannot get better than this, there are some flaws which every film has but are forgivable and probably intended to show the audience that way. Not a film to watch for the entertainment value only but solely for the essence of film watching. A standing ovation to Matthew Brown.