The Man Who Knew Infinity – Review

To play a character who upends his social status and uses his intellectualism to prevail, to make a difference, and to prove doubters wrong, is one we’ve seen Dev Patel undertake before – in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. It works, for he has a certain vulnerability about him and a humility which ensures that we can abide by him as a young boy growing up in poverty, and yet believe that he has the capacity for sheer greatness. In Matt Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity we see a similar thing, except this time based on the true story of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Having been brought up in Madras, India, Ramanujan’s remarkable aptitude for equations is yet to make a difference. And so, after much convincing to the English, is sent to Cambridge University with the ambition of having his work published. Though regretfully leaving behind his wife, Janaki (Devika Bhise), he vies tirelessly to impress the venerable professor G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons) who spots something special about this young man, and wants to push him to the very limit, believing that between them they can revolutionise mathematics. As Ramanujan begins to feel the pressure, he remains resolute in his findings – only to then be sidetracked with the arrival of the Second World War.

Patel turns in a truly accomplished display, and builds up a palpable chemistry with Irons, in what is the most intriguing aspect to this drama: their relationship. However, it’s one of so many themes explored, and as such Brown can be accused of having a lack of true focus, as we drift carelessly between the war, his life back in India, the maths, and his friendship with the professor. We never truly feel as though we’re substantially covering any one area. Unlike The Imitation Game – another story of a rank outsider using his intelligence to make a difference – The Man Who Knew Infinity doesn’t adopt any tropes of the thriller genre, and as such can fall into bouts of tedium. Conversely, and while there is a lack of drama to this picture, there’s also a distinct lack of subtlety too, which is rather difficult, and unfortunate to pull off – never truly finding a happy medium between the two notions.

Nonetheless, The Man Who Knew Infinity remains an endearingly undemanding drama that feels as though it will find its home on the smaller screen, as a traditional one-off drama you’d often find on the BBC. It’s not going to pull up any trees as such, but sometimes – and usually on a Sunday night – this sort of endeavour can be exactly what the doctor ordered.