I had the pleasure of viewing THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY. It is a film that involves numbers and algorithms and formulas and a race involving discovery. I am not a math person, and that was okay. I can appreciate another’s passion for something. If you have ever felt passion for any of the arts, sports, politics, science or for someone, passion is passion. It is the center of your world. The actors convey all the elements of a story of passion: love, hate, competition, jealousy, pettiness, narrow self centeredness, and awkwardness.

This is the story based on true events and real people of turn of the 20th century India and Great Britain. (True stories always attract my attention, and I enjoy doing further research on the story and the people involved.)

A prodigy, Ramanujan, leaves his bride behind in India with his mother and goes to Cambridge to hopefully publish his work with the help of H.G. Hardy. The complexity of the many so very long formulas reflects the complexity of the story as well as the complexity of the characters. It is not an easy nor straight forward journey. Ramanujan, an Indian, shy, devout, a vegetarian, shares only one thing in common with his mentors: passionate focus on mathematics.

I enjoyed the script, the acting, each of the characters’ development no matter how brief their appearances. The beauty of a part well cast and well done and lines so convincingly turned is as a gem within a film.

It is so very touching, especially since it is based in a true story. It is beautiful and sad and inspiring. It is one I could easily watch again if only to see more of all the details of the sets and costumes and nuances of the actors’ portrayals. And I hope to see it among the Oscar nominations!