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Editorial Reviews
A woman is murdered in Oxford. Her body is discovered by two men, Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), a prestigious professor of logic, and Martin (Elijah Wood), a young graduate student who has just arrived at the university hoping to study with Seldom. It quickly becomes clear that this is the fi rst in a series of murders, all of which are announced by the murderer with strange mathematical symbols. Professor and student join forces to try and crack the code, and thus begins an elaborate puzzle, in which nothing is as it seems and the truth is elusive.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Argentinean writer Guillermo Martinez has a PhD in Mathematical Logic in Buenos Aires and studied at the Mathematical Institute at Oxford University and these facts may explain the sophisticated subject matter of his novel ' novel THE OXFORD MURDERS ('Crímenes imperceptibles'), now adapted for the screen by Jorge Guerricaechevarría and Álex de la Iglesia, who also directed the film. It is a cerebral exercise in logic and mathematical theory in addition to being a clever murder mystery heavily bent toward the thinking viewer.
Martin (Elijah Wood) arrives at Oxford form his trailer house home in Arizona to study with the brilliant mathematics professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt). He brings little with him as he settles in with roommate Yuri Podorov (Burn Gorman) who clearly has a loathing for Seldom and for all of the great minds that have apparently stolen his solution for a theory. His elderly and physically impaired landlady Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey), who worked on the infamous Enigma Code that saved England in WW II, warmly accepts Martin into her home, introduces him to her daughter Beth (Julie Cox) who makes it clear that the old lady is preventing Beth from having the life of a free person, a cellist who wants more from life than confinement as a caregiver. Martin discovers that Seldom is not available to take on new postgrad students, and Martin challenges Seldom in a large classroom as Seldom is declaring Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory that there is no real truth. That challenge begins a bond between the two and when they individually meet at Mrs. Eagleton's home and find her murdered, Seldom shares a strange note left in his mailbox indicating the murder is the first of a series linked by a mysterious pattern. This new clue introduces the possibility of a code-guided threat of a serial killer and indeed more murders occur, each victim on the surface appearing to die of natural causes, but each paired with a message bearing a new arcane symbol. Seldom and Martin work together to break the code and to discover whether the deaths are innocent or the subtle, "imperceptible" homicides of a psychotic killer seeking to match wits with the great logician. They work with the policeman Inspector Petersen (Jim Carter) and the hunt is on. There are plenty of sidebars to lead them astray - both from the truth of the code and from personal needs: Martin becomes physically involved with Lorna (Leonor Watling) who has been Seldom's girlfriend in the past, and with Beth to no great end, and Seldom finds a suspicious father of a child in need of lung transplants. The ending of the story is completely surprising - another code we have failed to break in the course of this intellectual thriller.
Elijah Wood and John Hurt have superb screen chemistry and maintain our interest and concern throughout the film. At times the references to theories of Gödel, Heisenberg, and Wittgenstein are discussed so rapidly that the information, so pertinent to the story, is difficult to follow. This is a thinking person's movie, but very much well worth the effort as the performances and developments of the story are exceptional. Grady Harp, August 10
Martin (Elijah Wood) arrives at Oxford form his trailer house home in Arizona to study with the brilliant mathematics professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt). He brings little with him as he settles in with roommate Yuri Podorov (Burn Gorman) who clearly has a loathing for Seldom and for all of the great minds that have apparently stolen his solution for a theory. His elderly and physically impaired landlady Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey), who worked on the infamous Enigma Code that saved England in WW II, warmly accepts Martin into her home, introduces him to her daughter Beth (Julie Cox) who makes it clear that the old lady is preventing Beth from having the life of a free person, a cellist who wants more from life than confinement as a caregiver. Martin discovers that Seldom is not available to take on new postgrad students, and Martin challenges Seldom in a large classroom as Seldom is declaring Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory that there is no real truth. That challenge begins a bond between the two and when they individually meet at Mrs. Eagleton's home and find her murdered, Seldom shares a strange note left in his mailbox indicating the murder is the first of a series linked by a mysterious pattern. This new clue introduces the possibility of a code-guided threat of a serial killer and indeed more murders occur, each victim on the surface appearing to die of natural causes, but each paired with a message bearing a new arcane symbol. Seldom and Martin work together to break the code and to discover whether the deaths are innocent or the subtle, "imperceptible" homicides of a psychotic killer seeking to match wits with the great logician. They work with the policeman Inspector Petersen (Jim Carter) and the hunt is on. There are plenty of sidebars to lead them astray - both from the truth of the code and from personal needs: Martin becomes physically involved with Lorna (Leonor Watling) who has been Seldom's girlfriend in the past, and with Beth to no great end, and Seldom finds a suspicious father of a child in need of lung transplants. The ending of the story is completely surprising - another code we have failed to break in the course of this intellectual thriller.
Elijah Wood and John Hurt have superb screen chemistry and maintain our interest and concern throughout the film. At times the references to theories of Gödel, Heisenberg, and Wittgenstein are discussed so rapidly that the information, so pertinent to the story, is difficult to follow. This is a thinking person's movie, but very much well worth the effort as the performances and developments of the story are exceptional. Grady Harp, August 10
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Amazon Instant Video
Murders are committed for love, money, hatred, justice or revenge -- but not usually as an intellectual exercise. Yet Álex de la Iglesia approaches such a string of deaths in "The Oxford Murders," adapted from mathematician Guillermo Martinez's novel. Elijah Wood and William Hurt have magnificent chemistry and give excellent performances, but the script has a lot of flab.
Martin (Wood) is a young American student at Oxford who is writing his thesis; he hopes to have the famous mathematician Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) advise him... only to have his hopes dashed.
But when Seldom visits the house where he is boarding, the two men find Martin's landlady dead -- and while at first it appears to be natural causes, the police discover that she was murdered. And when Seldom reveals that he was sent a strange message warning him about the murder, he and Martin begin speculating that they're dealing with an "intellectual serial killer."
At the same time, Martin finds himself in an odd love triangle between his landlady's neurotic daughter (Julie Cox) and a sexy Spanish nurse (Leonor Watling). But his mind is fixed on unraveling the pattern that may lead him and Seldom to the murderer -- and the greatest puzzle is one that no one may be able to figure out.
Pythagorus, the principle of uncertainty, sequential math and mathematical order versus chaos. "The Oxford Murders" feels a bit like a mathematical episode of "Masterpiece Theatre" -- vast venerable colleges, the tangled motives, and some seemingly impossible murders.And the idea of murder warnings based on sequential mathematics is a fascinating one...
... which becomes a problem, because we end up with endless, pompous discussions about truth, reality and philosophy. Eventually you just want to scream at Seldom, "Get off your butt and go detect!"
Álex de la Iglesia cloaks the movie in pale light and a bleak greyness broken by brief spatters of color, and occasionally drops in some more explosive scenes (a rather clever incident involving two buses). Unfortunately, the plot has quite a bit of flab -- Martin's romance with Lorna doesn't really add anything to the plot except a sex scene involving pasta, and his demented classmate doesn't add much more.
But there is a saving grace. Wood and Hurt are absolutely magnificent together as the yin and yang of this investigation -- one is an idealistic, somewhat naive young student, and the other is an embittered, icy old man who apparently takes a weird delight in stirring others up. Cox is a crazy-eyed mass of nerves, and Watlin is just... there. And for some reason both of them are instantly ravenous for Wood.
"The Oxford Murders" is one part murder mystery, one part mathematics, and one part deadly boring philosophical debate that screeches the plot to a halt. A flawed movie with some fascinating, glittering facets.
Martin (Wood) is a young American student at Oxford who is writing his thesis; he hopes to have the famous mathematician Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) advise him... only to have his hopes dashed.
But when Seldom visits the house where he is boarding, the two men find Martin's landlady dead -- and while at first it appears to be natural causes, the police discover that she was murdered. And when Seldom reveals that he was sent a strange message warning him about the murder, he and Martin begin speculating that they're dealing with an "intellectual serial killer."
At the same time, Martin finds himself in an odd love triangle between his landlady's neurotic daughter (Julie Cox) and a sexy Spanish nurse (Leonor Watling). But his mind is fixed on unraveling the pattern that may lead him and Seldom to the murderer -- and the greatest puzzle is one that no one may be able to figure out.
Pythagorus, the principle of uncertainty, sequential math and mathematical order versus chaos. "The Oxford Murders" feels a bit like a mathematical episode of "Masterpiece Theatre" -- vast venerable colleges, the tangled motives, and some seemingly impossible murders.And the idea of murder warnings based on sequential mathematics is a fascinating one...
... which becomes a problem, because we end up with endless, pompous discussions about truth, reality and philosophy. Eventually you just want to scream at Seldom, "Get off your butt and go detect!"
Álex de la Iglesia cloaks the movie in pale light and a bleak greyness broken by brief spatters of color, and occasionally drops in some more explosive scenes (a rather clever incident involving two buses). Unfortunately, the plot has quite a bit of flab -- Martin's romance with Lorna doesn't really add anything to the plot except a sex scene involving pasta, and his demented classmate doesn't add much more.
But there is a saving grace. Wood and Hurt are absolutely magnificent together as the yin and yang of this investigation -- one is an idealistic, somewhat naive young student, and the other is an embittered, icy old man who apparently takes a weird delight in stirring others up. Cox is a crazy-eyed mass of nerves, and Watlin is just... there. And for some reason both of them are instantly ravenous for Wood.
"The Oxford Murders" is one part murder mystery, one part mathematics, and one part deadly boring philosophical debate that screeches the plot to a halt. A flawed movie with some fascinating, glittering facets.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Amazon Instant Video
I wonder what people who actually live in Oxford think of all the murderous activity associated with that locale in British detective mysteries? Oxford would have to rank right up there with St. Mary Mead and Midsomer as being among the most dangerous places to live in all of England.
Once again murderous forces are at work in Oxford but this time seems to focus on mathematics and mathematicians. The story is well crafted and held my attention all the way through. The acting is good and involves the viewer in the activities and emotions of the characters although it was not easy to identify with any of them. The major roles are well done with Elijah Wood as the graduate student, John Hurt as the famous professor, Leonor Watling as the significant female interest, Julie Cox as the frustrated female interest, and Jim Carter as the determined police inspector.
The scenery and settings do a great job of enhancing the mood of the movie and all work together to create an entertaining evening's viewing. There is some partial nudity and bedroom activity which limits it to adult audiences. This one is not for children. All told it is a well done British mystery.
Once again murderous forces are at work in Oxford but this time seems to focus on mathematics and mathematicians. The story is well crafted and held my attention all the way through. The acting is good and involves the viewer in the activities and emotions of the characters although it was not easy to identify with any of them. The major roles are well done with Elijah Wood as the graduate student, John Hurt as the famous professor, Leonor Watling as the significant female interest, Julie Cox as the frustrated female interest, and Jim Carter as the determined police inspector.
The scenery and settings do a great job of enhancing the mood of the movie and all work together to create an entertaining evening's viewing. There is some partial nudity and bedroom activity which limits it to adult audiences. This one is not for children. All told it is a well done British mystery.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oxford Murders
The ending was a real surprise. I will be watching it again. There are many so unexpected twists so pay attention when viewing
Published 21 days ago by Margaret Olson
3.0 out of 5 stars
okay
I felt like it was hard to follow. For it being a who done it, there were few clues and it really led you no where
Published 2 months ago by kellej
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Intelligent Murder Mystery
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Nicely written, well acted. The first victim was played by the actress who portrayed the Cockney bar maid in Alfred Hitchcock's "Frenzy. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John D. Truslow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting movie
Full of intrigue,Required some thought and had some surprises throughout the movie, acting was very good and very enjoyable would recommend it
Published 3 months ago by Kathy
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Rate Intellectual Romp with the superb John Hurt and A very...
Not going where you'd ever expect it to go this movie will both fascinate, frustrate, and enthrall you as you try to solve the murders before our two dueling egoists. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rick L. Parrish
4.0 out of 5 stars
Elijah does better than OK.
The story is more involved and engaging than I thought. I rank it above average for that. But, it is not a superb or great story. It doesn't get much beyond an ordinary mystery.
Published 5 months ago by Harry F. Drabik
5.0 out of 5 stars
You'll love this, if your IQ is over 130
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who love the Da Vinci Code, and those who think the Da Vinci Code is too stupid to inflict in twelve year olds. Read more
Published 5 months ago by sampai
1.0 out of 5 stars
Excruciating, and not in a good way.
Bad bad bad! Bad writing, bad acting, bad directing, bad editing. There is nothing to like here, except possibly Anna Massey's 3 minutes at the beginning. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Aircamperman
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bad Bad Bad
Elijah Wood is repugnant in the sex scenes. He should stick to playing elfs. The script and plot are boring and badly executed. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. Harris
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lacked something..
Wood and Hurt's scenes were magical and brilliant. But Wood's scenes with the girls seemed forced and unnatural. I often felt like I was watching two different movies.
Published 9 months ago by A. H. Tooke
