Review of The Oxford Murders (2008) by Ross H — 13 Jan 2011

A film that I tried out on Netlix streaming that had a lot of potential but kind of just never got going full steam for me. Of course it is at no fault of John Hurt. This man could recite the instructions of a steam iron and it would be utterly captivating! The man is in fine form here.

Elijah Wood? Well not so much and I don't know if he's really that good of a lead man except when he's in possession of a certain ring. Maybe he should go against type and be cast as a killer and maybe show all of us what's he capable of.

One of the few things I look for in a film is that whatever role the leads are playing are they giving me something that defines them as an actor and makes you think that nobody else could do this role.

That's when the good performances in film shine through and quite frankly Elijah didn't give me that. Anybody with some talent could have done that role with just as much believability so it is an average performance for an average film.

Mr. Hurt on the other hand convinced me that yes this man was a famous and storied professor at Oxford. And that's what you want. It separates the great performances from the average. Worth at least one look mainly for Hurt but more?, I don't know.