The Oxford Murders [Blu-ray]

The service was great, but the movie was just average.

I imagine some people might enjoy this movie, possibly those with a special interest in mathematical puzzles. But if you are seeking a murder mystery that makes sense and has a cathartic resolution, move on. For one thing, although the mystery genre is known for lightly sketched characters -- presumably to enable suspicion to grow about a number of suspects -- the genre also provides a central protagonist, usually a detective, as someone we trust. In this instance that character is a young grad student, Martin, played with notable enthusiasm but not much else by Elijah Wood, as someone caught up in a murder case and intent upon solving it. The trouble is we have no sense of Martin's character and the story lacks a core. Martin's motivations are bewildering. We know virtually nothing of his backstory or why Beth, a pretty housemate, would fall almost instantly in love with him. His other love interest, with whom he gets sexually involved, also appears to find him irresistible at first sight. It isn't that he is unattractive but the wide-eyed innocence of Frodo Baggins has not quite morphed sufficiently into a lustful Romeo to make these interactions work. All we really know about Martin is that he is obsessed with a notorious Oxford professor, played effectively by John Hurt, and wants to engage him as his tutor. Also distracting, in the first scene Martin meets his new landlady and daughter [Beth] and the conversation that evolves is eccentric, disjointed, and way too bizarre for an initial social encounter. As this scene is so early in the film it tends to dislocate our expectations for credibility moving forward. The murders themselves get lost in the pace of the story and there is little compassion for the victims. I also felt that the sex scenes were gratuitous and distracting from the overall tone. The woman with whom these scenes take place supposedly wants to run off with Martin -- though they have only known each other for a week or so at the time she gets this idea -- so it is difficult to feel sympathy for her emotional pain when it all falls apart. It is difficult, in fact, to relate to any of the relationships in the story when so little is known or conveyed about the inner lives of the characters.Again, I think someone with a serious vibe for mathematics would find this film engaging but the rest of us may find better ways to spend our time.

I cannot recall the photography of a movie that embraced faces the way the camera does in "Oxford." It moves in to Elijah Wood's blue eyes which are like the painting of Vermeer and the camera hovers almost lovingly, over the very young, smooth face. It zeros in on the craggy face of John Hurt, the deep creases like a bas relief of a canyon. The two faces are diametric opposites, one the unlined hallmark of youth, the other age and experience.At Oxford University the bonding of two men, the young graduate student from Arizona, Martin (Wood)and the embittered mathematics professor Arthur Seldom (Hurt) begins in a large class room where Seldom is lecturing. Martin from the audience challenges the professor's belief in the Ludwig Wittgenstein theory that there is no real truth. Fate seems to play a large part in this beautiful film, throwing the two men together-the young student and the elderly professor- in a series of circumstances that swallow them up for perhaps they are on the trail of a serial killer. The ending of this intellectual thriller after a series of red herrings is a surprise if not a shock."The Oxford Murders" is a very erudite film. Because the dialog moves swiftly and there is mention of so many obscure philosophers and theologians, bringing up the captions helps the viewer grasp the situation. Cryptic symbols and a series of natural looking deaths drive the plot and the viewer has to play close attention.I found that looking up the "butterfly effect" helped me to better understand and appreciate the ending: a butterfly flapping its wings somewhere can initiate huge changes in conditions somewhere else, even on the other side of the world.

Started out well but went downhill in about 15 minutes. Thought itwas going to be one of those wonderful mysteries the English usually do so well. Kept waiting for it to make sense. Never did. Gratuitous sex.

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. The real surprise is Elijah Woods and those beaming headlight eyes that see into the soul of evil but not quite illuminating all the corners leading to the solution. He amazed me with the depth of his performance and showing his cheeky side in a sexual romp that has deeper meaning than just deeper. John Hurt gives a master class in acting and makes you ask why he hasn't been knighted yet??? I don't like going over plot points when I'm reviewing movies or books and believe me without even looking I can tell you there are plenty of them here. I like to just give my overall opinion of the film and in this case I was enchanted that this movie even got made. I would suspect that the majority of reviews are not very positive for this effort because you have to have a head on your shoulders to appreciate what the Director and the actors (each and every one of them in spectacular fashion no matter the size of the role) have achieved here. Even DECIDING to film a Martinez novel is an act of bravery I'm sure no one in Hollywood has the Brasses to attempt. I really like a Director who leaves his comfort zone and challenges us as Iglesia does here. Superb effort all around and you will not be disappointed and here's hoping you see the end coming at you as through a glass darkly. One day this will be a classic studied by cinema students everywhere.

This is pretentious rubbish from start to finish. Not rooted in any reality at all. A tragic waste of good actors. So glad it cost me next to nothing. Not even worth £1.99 though!Avoid, avoid, avoid!

I live near Oxford and cycle to this fabulous city pretty much every week.I don't usually take time to leave reviews, but this film was so supremely awful, that I just wanted to save yourself the trouble of having to go through the same experience and monetary loss. I'm not even bother taking it to Oxfam, it's already disposed of in my recycling bin. No need to share my critique, I see others express my thoughts pretty well.

I found this film strangely watchable, even though all the bits with the sums and symbols went over my head somewhat. Full of weird and unusual characters and I certainly don't think it quite deserves all the bad reviews. Seeing Elijah Wood getting a bit of romance made it well worth it for me.

Not good.

And intriguing unusual one of mystery