The Professor and the Madman

I have to hand it to the director, filmmakers and actors in this under-the-radar dramatic thriller. The camera work, lighting, mood and cinematography are all top notch. Penn and Gibson give amazing performances, almost entirely believable. Penn especially delivers a candid and twisted take on mental disruption into paranoia and insanity. However, there are a couple of missteps that give me pause into plausibility and almost ruin an otherwise thrilling movie watching experience. This could have been Oscar bait; probably could have won a few of them. It is quite quaint hearing the diction of the actors, and very literate and deliberate in causing the audience to play along in what becomes a Jekyll and Hyde antagonist (Penn) teaming up with a zealous protagonist (Gibson). Here is what I mean: The opening scene is jarring and either perks you up or purrs you down. It is hard to start with that opening and then juxtapose a madman against a snobby Cambridge bunch expounding on their opportunity to somehow change the course of the English language forever by creating a legacy of words. Yes, a complete dictionary of every word uttered in history. OK, so which is madness? A man clearly seeing things and people who are not there (schizophrenia) versus a self-taught professor of language taking on an impossible task? That these two men – their lives, their mental acuity, their desire to learn – form an immediate friendship through a common endeavor is admirable; but almost not plausible. The trite phrase “based on a true story” is to be taken half-heartedly. The other disruptive discourse in this film wonderfully directed is the relationship between the woman (there is really only two in the entire movie) who should hate the madman, but loves him in spite of abject personal loss. It does not fit; it is not rational in light of all the irrationality going on with this Doctor of Insanity. Finally, the film took great lengths and time to make sure it is explicitly certain that Penn’s doctor is freaking insane. You don’t have to show me self-amputation to get your point across. To make a long story short (too late!) I was disappointed. And the long running time didn’t help matters, either.

Мел Гибсон ерунды не снимет!

A wonderful piece of cinema. Outstanding performances by Gibson and Penn. BRAVO!!!!!

This movie is a hidden gem! Great performance by both Mel & Sean. But, Sean does stand out with his performance and I could see his name mentioned for Best Actor. Very interesting story too - who knew the dictionary could be this interesting and exciting. Direction is great too. Overall great movie. Thank you for being it to us Mel!

Both Penn and Gibson gave Oscar-worthy performances.

Words are foundational to our existence. To have a better knowledge and understanding into the making of The Oxford Dictionary by two notable actors as well as the other casts, made this film 5-star compelling!

Treasure my Oxford dictionary (tholugh with a magnifier) and for mewhat seperated from all others , is that every definition, which Idont always understand, is laced with uses by the greatest writers use of that word, and frequently that is how I really wrap my hands around the meaning. This was superbly cast. written, filmed, everything was perfect . Ah, if only the desire for such fine film making were a general passion. And my favoriite, Jennifeer Ehiles slightly dainty Scotch accent , which was like a halo of warmth around the whole production

Incredible, fascinating, remarkable, this movie and the performances in it are a MUST see!!

Story, score, cinematography, performances, all of themare simply brilliant.

You know these guys are professionals.....good movie learned a lot good history!