• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Film

X + Y – Film Review

By Emma Silverthorn @HouseOf_Gazelle Who knew a film about maths could be so entertaining? Inspired by his 2007 documentary Beautiful Young Minds director Morgan Matthews and writer James Graham’s X + Y is a very funny, sweet yet unsentimental drama centred on the surprisingly fascinating, (and hardcore), world of a Mathematics Olympiad. As “geek-cool” continues […]

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
March 12, 2015
in Film

By Emma Silverthorn @HouseOf_Gazelle

Who knew a film about maths could be so entertaining? Inspired by his 2007 documentary Beautiful Young Minds director Morgan Matthews and writer James Graham’s X + Y is a very funny, sweet yet unsentimental drama centred on the surprisingly fascinating, (and hardcore), world of a Mathematics Olympiad.

As “geek-cool” continues to spread X + Y is a bracingly realistic portrait of what it’s genuinely like to be on the outside. Asa Butterfiled is spot on as mildly autistic maths genius Nathan. Nathan is not just socially awkward; a mode of being which in line with the trendy geek phenomenon has itself become hip, but socially terrified. As much as I enjoy these women’s work, this is not the cute experience of social awkwardness of say Lena Dunham in Girls or Miranda July in most of her projects, this is self-consciousness and introversion at it’s most painful extreme.

Nathan’s struggle, along with a family tragedy that falls in the early part of the film, could make for an interesting but rather depressing watch however a brilliant performance from Nathan’s eccentric and rebellious maths tutor Humphreys (Rafe Spall) lifts the film. Sally Hawkins as Nathan’s understandably strained and lonely mother is equally brilliant and the dynamics between the trio are touching and complex.

Nathan’s love of maths and his extra-curricular study with Humphrey’s lands him a place at an elite maths training camp in China which proffers some interesting cultural clashes. Positively the camp offers an inspiriting shake up of Nathan’s self-imposed world of confinement and order. And in this environment Nathan’s intelligence has the potential to elevate rather than ostracize him socially. However, as soon becomes evident, group politics and popularity contests exist everywhere including within the world of the fringe intellectual minority. And it is at camp that Nathan confronts a dark alternative version of his own emotional difficulties in the form of respective sufferer Luke (Jake Davies). Luke’s failed attempt of a John Cleese joke is heartbreaking to watch.

The tagline for the film ‘Is there a formula for love?’ might suggest trite territory but with this cast and crew it never strays into that. The emotion feels real never maudlin here. One of my favourites films of the year so far.

 

RelatedPosts

Glasgow Film Festival 2021

Jonah Hill posts perfect response to Daily Mail article as he hits out at body shamers

Glasgow Film Festival: What we’ve seen so far

Film Review: PVT Chat

 

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

How To Make: Beef Cabbage Stir-fry

How To Make: Beef and Cabbage Stir-fry

‘We gave as much as we possibly can’ to NHS heroes, Boris claims

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed – but may face new charges in Iran

Image by AdobeStock

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Sunday 7 March 2021

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.