Let’s snuggle into the familiar embrace of the British biopic. A genre all on its own, their tempered looks at history often play as apologies for past sins, with recent entries like The Imitation Game and Suffragette discussing or taking on outright the treatment of gay men and women by past British society. The problem is that they often feel like hollow pats on the back, because while the atrocious behavior that the films portray have become antiquated, more mild wrongs are still committed against these groups every day.
And so comes The Man Who Knew Infinity, the story of a brilliant mathematician from India who went to Cambridge in the early 1900s to have his work evaluated and published. The trailer makes it clear that there will be a lot of commentary on how the Brits have historically treated people from India, with Jeremy Irons’ growling approval of the man communicating the disdain we should feel for the wanton dismissal others try to throw at him.
Let’s pause on that moment for a second. The old men are huddled around a table with their academic garb in full display, and Irons spits his line while literally holding a cup of tea. It’s hard to make a more stereotypical view of upper-crust British society than that, and the brief clip we get of that scene has me convinced that the crusty old men will eventually extend a vote of confidence to the gifted mathematician. The characters will smile, the audience will feel good about themselves, and we’ll all leave the film reassured that the best and the brightest do steer us towards a better future. It’s a pleasant sentiment to walk away with, and even if these sorts of films get churned out a bit too often, I like that there’s a place in our cinematic world for uplifting social commentary.
The Man Who Knew Infinity is directed by Matt Brown and stars Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel. It will be released in the U.K. on April 8th, 2016 and in the U.S. on April 29th, 2016. International release dates can be found here.
Are you a fan of the cozy British biopics? Let us know in the comments!
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