The Professor and the Madman Movie Review

A Good Film

I just finished watching, The Professor and the Madman and I found myself enjoying the film. It might be a bit slow for some, but it's still good.

The Professor and the Madman is about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary and how one Scot, and one American made great progress at the beginning of the Dictionary. James Murray (Mel Gibson) is presented as a hyper-polyglot at the beginning of the film and appears that he may be the only one up to the task at starting a dictionary comprised of every English word. Dr. William Minor (Sean Penn) is found insane for the murder of Eliza Merrett's (Natalie Dormer) husband. He is placed in psychiatric hospital where he faces what he has done and what haunts him from the past. Dr. William Minor discovers a plea for help in the creation of the dictionary and he assists James Murray in its creation, while attempting to make amends with Eliza Merrett.

I found The Professor and the Madman to be a joy to watch. This is a very particular style of film, and it's not everyone's cup of tea, which is fine. The acting was well done, the camera work was solid, the music was typical but not overdone, and the story was solid. I don't know much about the history behind The Professor and the Madman, but I will not be judging this film on a historical basis, but as a film in and of itself.

It's been a while since I've seen a Mel Gibson or Sean Penn film. I am a fan of Natalie Dormer, and seeing these three actors work together I must say, they really played well off of each other. The chemistry fits. Even the minor characters in the film have some life to them. Pretty much everyone in The Professor and the Madman did an excellent job.

The cinematography of The Professor and the Madman was crisp and clean. The lighting of each and every shot was top notch and fit the scenes perfectly. There where some nice shots that didn't drag either and held my attention fully.

One thing that surprised me is the use of music. Sometimes films such as these, overuse their music. But, The Professor and the Madman didn't, in fact it used it's soundtrack effectively. The film knew when to be silent, and when to play.

The story itself was solid. I came to discover that The Professor and the Madman was based on a book, which in turn was based on the real events. As a story, it was entertaining. The pacing was consistent and didn't drag. I was hooked into the film from the first second, to the last.

If you enjoy these historical style period pieces, I think you will enjoy The Professor and the Madman. I really wanted to see this film when it came out last year, but I was unable too at the time. I'm happy that I finally got to see, The Professor and the Madman.

final score: 4/5