The focal outlook of the movie exist with the character of Martin (Elijah Wood). A young, American grad student who travels to Oxford to develop a mathematical thesis. His choice of school becomes clear early as one of his idols in the field, Professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), practices at the prestigious institution. As living quarters, Martin rents a room that is available with the Eagleton’s, a family composed of elderly Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey) and her musically inclined daughter Beth (Julie Cox). There is weird chemistry between her and Martin because of Mrs. Eagleton’s staunch opposition to potential suitors for the fetching blond. In lieu of this, Martin doesn’t entertain the possibility long and decides to invest his emotions with the also gorgeous Lorna (Leonor Watling). Putting his “ladies man” stance on hold to get back to his real interest, he attends a rare lecture by Seldom in hopes that he can meet and impress him enough to assist him in his thesis. But upon answering a question that the professor poses to his audience, he is blasted by the old brilliant on his idea that everything that happens in the world can be explained by logic. Upon this rejection, he thinks about leaving and returns to his temporary residence. But when he gets there, he is met by Seldom who says he is simply “visiting and old friend” in Mrs. Eagleton. But when they enter the house, they find her dead, and suspect that it wasn’t by natural causes. This sets the stage for a classic “who done it” with an enveloping story, emerging culprits, and and attempt to use logic to explain the murder and catch the murderer.
This movie divides itself along the usual narrative bell curve (introduction, rising action, increasing conflict, climax, resolution, falling action, afterwards) in three acts. The opening act is very good. It does a fantastic job of introducing the intricate characters and the basic plot. It also involves you with the perspective of Martin in relation to the one’s around him, and keeps you entertained up to the murder. The second is the film’s weakest. It could just be me not being a “math guy” but it seems as though Martin and Prof. Seldom “spin their wheels” and come up with a ton of possible solutions through various mathematical equations and theorems. They do offer a pseudo-explanation to all of the ones they reference by quickly saying what the basics of the thought is, but these moments feel like more filler than actual attempts at getting into the mind of the killer and coming up with a resolution. The third act is just as good as the first. The pace picks back up, and just when the film looks like it’s going to come apart at the hinges, it reveals an awesome ending that answers all remaining questions and gives a sensible resolution that most will not be able to guess.
The acting quality in the film is, overall, very high. This is definitely the best work Elijah Wood has done since LOTR. He displays his character with wit and charisma, two traits that seem odd considering his level and field of study. To put it frankly, his character doesn’t fit the stereotype of the introverted “math geek.” He is able to carry on high level conversations with Seldom while also being a “playboy” and consuming the thoughts and feelings of two really hot women. This transition is a bit off putting for the intelligence the movie rings home, but this is what Wood was given to work with (pardon the pun) and does it very well. John Hurt and Leonor Watling are also spot on. Hurt plays his role to perfection at a believable level. And I haven’t seen Watling in anything else, but I definitely want to see more from her for two reasons: one, despite her part being “simple” she shows strong emotions and proper reactions to the actions around her, and two, she’s super good looking (which feeds into the problem I have with the character of Martin). Julie Cox’s work of the other lead Beth, however, does not come close to the aforementioned billing. Her presence on screen seems “spliced in” and just doesn’t flow with the movie. At other times, the delivery of her lines sound like she’s reading instead of performing. There is one notably bad exchange between her and Martin that actually makes Wood’s part in the scene bad. It may sound like I’m being “nit-picky” but I realized these flaws while I was watching the movie, not when it was over and I was reflecting. These jarring removals from the plot that make one realize they are watching a movie is not preferred in any genre, but in murder mysteries, they are exponentially more detrimental.
Returning to good things about this movie, the Special Features are awesome. They offer a bevy of information and are quite varied in selection and scope. Most of them are packed full with cool and insightful information, and really make you want to discover more about the film, the novel it was inspired by, ect. One warning though, most of them are set in French with English subtitles (because most of the crew members are French). Along with this odd characteristic, I advise giving them a view AFTER you watch the movie.
They include:
-The Making of The Oxford Murders
-The Mathematical Criminals of Oxford
–The Oxford Murders: at Abbey Road
–The Oxford Murders: Waiting for Alex
–The Oxford Murders: Professor Kalman
–The Oxford Murders: Set Design
–The Oxford Murders: Kalman’s Makeup
-HDNet: A Look at The Oxford Murders
-Behind the Scenes of The Oxford Murders