Review: The Oxford Murders

If you are looking for a thrilling murderer mystery, this is NOT your movie. I am saying this for two reasons:
First of all, not only is this movie quite convoluted with side stories that are not at all related to the murder, but every non-American character in the movie is so over-acted, it would seem that Elijah Wood is the only sane person around. There just is no telling who the culprit may be.
Secondly, at heart, this, movie is not really about murders, but it is actually an ongoing discussion on the question of whether or not there is order and meaning in the universe.
So, don't be fooled by the trailer:


The film stars Elijah Wood as Martin - an American Student who comes over to England to study Maths and Philosophy or something at the University of Oxford (one of the most prestigious universities in the UK). He hopes to work under Arthur Seldom, an eccentric and cynical expert in the field. However, Seldom (nicely played by John Hurt) makes it clear that this is not going to happen as he expertly humiliates Martin in front of a full lecture theatre, after Martin openly disagreed with his conclusion on the philosophical question ‘Can we know the truth?’. Afterwards, Martin heartbrokenly decides to leave this forsaken country and goes home to pack, only to run into Seldom at his door step. Then, together they discover that the Land Lady, an old friend of Seldom, was murdered and they both begin an intellectual adventure, involving logical sequences, cancer patients, boobs and a crazy Russian mathematician to solve the mystery behind this crime.

As simple as this plot may sound, the film is certainly not light entertainment. The characters of Wood and Hurt frequently break out into discussions about mathematics, philosophy and at one point even physics, and if you are not familiar with their terminology, you may feel a little lost. To make things even more confusing, there are several scenes, thrown into the movie that do not really relate to the story itself, but only seem to serve to deliver the deeper message behind the movie.

I was meaning to write this review months ago but was too busy. I personally found the movie quite entertaining, but felt slightly let down by some of the acting and the erratic pacing of the movie. The behavior of some of the characters at certain points is so bizarre, the movie seems almost surreal, which kinda undermined the seriousness of the plot. In the end however, I think may work best that way.
If you’re a fan of maths and philosophy and don’t mind watching John Hurt and Elijah Wood debating away through half the film, you should have fun with the movie. I’d give it a matinee.
I’d like to think that any person of any back ground could still somewhat enjoy the movie. However, I have seen university students walking out of the movie completely misunderstanding the ending, so … I don’t know … a hesitant rental for everyone else.