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The Oxford Murders (2008) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   5,923 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 10% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Jorge Guerricaechevarría (writer)
Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Oxford Murders on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 January 2008 (Spain) more
Genre:
Crime | Romance | Thriller more
Plot:
At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try and stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols. | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Álex de la Iglesia Puzzles Over "The Oxford Murders"
 (From IFC. 16 June 2009, 9:27 AM, PDT)

Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead Trailer!
 (From Icons of Fright. 23 April 2009, 1:02 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Useful as a example of bad screen writing for future screenwriters more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Elijah Wood ... Martin

John Hurt ... Arthur Seldom

Leonor Watling ... Lorna

Julie Cox ... Beth
Burn Gorman ... Podorov
Anna Massey ... Mrs. Eagleton
Jim Carter ... Inspector Petersen
Alan David ... Mr. Higgins
Dominique Pinon ... Frank
Tim Wallers ... Defence Lawyer

James Weber-Brown ... Doctor
Ian East ... Howard Green
Charlotte Asprey ... Mrs. Howard Green
Alex Cox ... Kalman

Tom Frederic ... Ludwig Wittgenstein
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Crimes à Oxford (France)
Los crímenes de Oxford (Spain: Castilian title)
Oxford Crimes (Spain) (working title)
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Runtime:
108 min
Country:
Spain | UK | France
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
London, England, UK more
Company:
Eurimages more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The "Bormat's Last Theorem" that is solved in the movie is clearly a reference to Fermat's Last Theorem. Like Bormat's theorem in the movie, Fermat's theorem was widely considered to be (one of) the most difficult problems of the last 300 years. It was solved fairly recently (in 1995 by Andrew Wiles). It was solved using elliptic curves, and the proof was first demonstrated at Cambridge. Like the proof of Bormat's theorem in the movie, the proving of Fermat's was a very big deal in the world of number theory. more
Goofs:
Continuity: After Prof. Wilkes finishes his presentation of his solution to Bormat's Last Theorem, the writing on the blackboard behind him changes. more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful:-
Useful as a example of bad screen writing for future screenwriters, 9 April 2009
4/10
Author: rzajac from Dongshih, Taiwan

This film would appear to be a case where a well-intentioned producer, or enclave of producers, noticed a public interest in conceptually high-toned and seemingly erudite subject matter, combined with more staid pop story elements, like serial murder (Se7en) or overcoming emotional/psychological issues (Good Will Hunting/A Beautiful Mind).

The problem appears to be that they turned the screen writing job over to hacks.

I know that's a brutal thing to say, but it really does appear to be the case.

The film tries to wed serial murder and academic philosophical musing, but fails. Actually, it tries to bring quite the plethora of de rigueur elements together, and mismanages the whole affair. You have all kinds of messy stuff, and an absence of any really compelling myth to bind it together, or even to effectively humanize the characters. You have John Hurt striving valiantly to imbue each scene he works with warmth and sensitivity, but he fails against the tide of bad overall conception/development. Suddenly, Wood is dallying with his hostess' daughter. Where did that come from? Then, she's mad at him for arriving home late. Was she expecting him? Later, she apologizes, and they seem to have arrived at some kind of cozy platonic status quo. Why? And she plays the cello. Uh, are we supposed to assume that an interest in contemporary orchestral ensemble work functions as a hedge against emotional irrelevancy? This was all fast, senseless, and just one example of many, many instances where presumably emotionally resonant moments float in a mutually disconnected vacuum.

And speaking of resonant moments, it's possible that some directorial stringency might have redeemed the script somewhat, though I'm not sure. It appears to be a case where the director accepted the script as-is, directed individual scenes as best as possible, then handed the footage over to editing; maybe they could make sense where he couldn't. There really seemed to be only the faintest glimmer of an understanding of any kind of move toward a redemptive overall storyline. I guess I'm saying that the narrative buck needed to have stopped with the narrators, but instead got passed, ineffectually, along the line in the process, until we see the buck being passed right out our screens and into our laps: The narrators didn't know what they were after--or didn't have the craft to pull it off--could the director handle it? The director couldn't handle it; could the editors make up for the oversight? The editors tried as best they could; if they can't make gold out of shite footage, could the viewer kindly oblige and dig something meaningful out of this morass of disconnected emoting interlaced with disconnected pedantry? By now, I think you get the idea. Seriously: If you're an aspiring screenwriter, WATCH THIS MOVIE. I daresay it's a textbook case.

I'm just having one more thought. It is *just possible* that the script is OK, but we're actually witnessing a combination of bad direction and editing mangling it. I would guess it's unlikely, but it *is* possible.

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Why was Burn Gorman dubbed ? peertwo
Idiot series lebelconvict
Boring ogc1973
Absolute Rubbish! Conrad1965
How did this get 6.2? jamesaslett
Truly Abysmal Nikki_Knight
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