The Oxford Murders (2008)

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia

Writers:

Jorge Guerricaechevarría (writer)
Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Student | Oxford | Murder | Teacher Student Relationship | Unrequited Love

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

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

Also Known As:

Crimes à Oxford (France)
Los crímenes de Oxford (Spain: Castilian title)
Oxford Crimes (Spain) (working title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Spain | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13 | Italy:T | Argentina:16 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-13 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Eurimages

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.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Prof. Wilkes finishes his presentation of his solution to Bormat's Last Theorem, the writing on the blackboard behind him changes.

Soundtrack:

Ricercar A 3

Excellent murder mystery

The Oxford Murders seems to have garnered quite a lot of hatred towards it since it's release in 2008, and to be honest I can see why. It's clear that this is not a film for everyone, but personally I liked it. The Oxford Murders is different and challenging, and while its ideas can certainly be more than a little bit pretentious at times; it kept me guessing for the duration. The film is based on a book by Guillermo Martinez; I haven't read it, but from what I understand; the movie is quite faithful to the source material. As the title suggests, the film takes place in Oxford and focuses on Oxford University in particular. American student Martin has travelled to Oxford to study mathematics; the main reason for him being there is Arthur Seldom; a brilliant professor lecturing at the University. He tries to get the teacher's attention in a lecture and ends up looking silly; but they meet again a bit later when they discover the dead body of Martin's landlord. This leads to an investigation into a possible serial killer when it emerges the professor received a note forewarning of the murder.

Director Álex de la Iglesia succeeds in capturing what I imagine the atmosphere of Oxford University to be like. Not in terms of the style of the film; but certainly with regards to the pretentious snobbiness of the plot. It's clear that the plot does think itself very clever; but in many ways it is. The film introduces us with a handful of main characters, and then gets into the action rather quickly. Once the mystery begins, we are fed with a slew of red herrings; each with a legitimate reason for committing the crimes, and thus keeping us guessing throughout. The lead role is taken by Elijah Wood; who is surprisingly effective with his portrayal; it's easy to believe he's an ace maths student. The real plaudits have to go to John Hurt, however, who gets his snarling performance spot on. There's rather a lot of maths talk that the vast majority of audience members won't understand. I didn't understand most of it either, but all the important stuff is explained enough so that even those that couldn't solve "the idiot series" will be able to follow it. Things do get a bit complicated at times; but things are generally well reasoned, and the twist (which I didn't see coming) rounds everything off nicely. Overall, I may be in a minority; but I liked this thriller a lot and would definitely recommend it.