Review of The Oxford Murders (2008) by Spyros T — 20 Jun 2012

A a pop-corn whodunit with a mathematical/philosophical-centric approach. It's a thinking man's crime story, and it features plenty of mouthful dialogue. Most of the scenes showcase math banter between Wood and Hurt, there are some interesting ideas and clever twists, but the script is poorly written, it's like somebody read a book about maths, another book about mysteries, and then took random lines from each book and handed them in as a screenplay.

The editing didn't help either. The editor butchered the film. He neglected some crucial details and spoiled a number of scenes. Surprisingly, the film got a Goya Award for its editing, I wonder why.

The brilliant John Hurt as the philosophy teacher is the best thing in this film. Also, Elijah Wood plays a veritable babe magnet, which is no less inexplicable in the film than it sounds, but it's weirdly compelling to witness.

The sex scene was like watching a piglet suckling on his mummy pig's teets.