The Professor and the Madman (2019)

Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.

Director:

Farhad Safinia (as P.B. Shemran)

Writers:

John Boorman, Todd Komarnicki

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, Eddie Marsan

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	James Murray
Sean Penn	...	Dr. William Chester Minor
Eddie Marsan	...	Mr. Muncie
Natalie Dormer	...	Eliza Merrett
Jennifer Ehle	...	Ada Murray
Steve Coogan	...	Frederick James Furnivall
Stephen Dillane	...	Dr. Richard Brayn
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Henry Bradley
Jeremy Irvine	...	Charles Hall
Laurence Fox	...	Philip Lyttelton Gell
Anthony Andrews	...	Benjamin Jowett
Lars Brygmann	...	Max Mueller
Bryan Murray	...	Henry Liddell
David O'Hara	...	Church
Sean Duggan	...	Tom Coleman

Storyline

Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid-19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.

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Plot Keywords:

winston churchill character | lexicographer | oxford english dictionary | courtroom sketch | opening action scene | 

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Taglines:

The Incredible True Story That Defined Our World.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Sean Penn's & Mel Gibson's return to filming in Ireland after This Must Be the Place (2011) and Braveheart (1995) respectively.

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Goofs

Minor has a flashback of the Civil War and we see a man who has lost his leg in battle screaming. But the man has obviously already had surgery on the leg and it is now a healed stump, not a fresh injury.

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Quotes

James Murray: For every word, in action, becomes beautiful in the light of its own meaning.

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Connections

Referenced in Evening Urgant: Artem Dzyaba/Zivert (2019)

User Reviews

Outstanding film with Oscar-worthy performance by Penn

I wasn't thrilled about a biographical film story regarding a dictionary, but this one impressed me! Who would've though to know the history behind a dictionary?

Farhad Safinia makes his first full length feature film debut as writer and director, and nailed it. Produced by and also starring Mel Gibson - who was also great in his role, this film was directed exceptionally well, and the writing was good. I felt the screenplay was all over the place in a few areas, and the 124 min length a little too long for the story being told. I'm not a fan of slow paced films, but this one was just right. Casting was great, including Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer, but wow did Sean Penn give an Oscar-worthy performance in his role as Dr. Minor. Glad to see him back on the big screen. The score was perfect and the sets/costumes on point for the era.

This is by no means an action packed Hollywood blockbuster, but instead a historical biopic produced extremely well, and a must-see.

A well deserved 9/10 from me.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Ireland France Iceland USA Mexico Belgium UK Hong Kong

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Professor and the Madman

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,957,273

Company Credits

Production Co:

Voltage Pictures, Fábrica de Cine, Definition Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1