The Man Who Knew Infinity (2016)

What makes The Man Who Knew Infinity special is how it turns pure thought into genuine drama, treating mathematics not as homework but as a risky, exhilarating act of imagination. Dev Patel gives Ramanujan a quiet fire—brilliant, vulnerable, stubbornly hopeful—while Jeremy Irons plays Hardy with a bracing restraint that slowly softens into something deeply human, and their unlikely partnership becomes the film’s heartbeat. Matt Brown tells it in an old-fashioned, handsomely crafted style, balancing the warmth of discovery with the chill of wartime England and the sting of prejudice, without ever losing sight of the personal cost behind the triumph. It’s not a flashy biopic and the math won’t be for everyone, but if you like intelligent, sincere dramas about talent fighting to be recognized, this one lands with real grace.

The Man Who Knew Infinity is clearly trying to honor Ramanujan’s genius and the unlikely, often prickly partnership with Hardy, wrapping it all in an accessible, inspirational true-story package. The problem is it plays like a very standard prestige biopic: respectful, well-behaved, and a bit too eager to hit the expected beats, which can make an extraordinary life feel oddly conventional. If you’re hoping for a movie that really lets you feel the thrill of discovery or digs deeper into the messier edges of its characters, you may find it restrained and occasionally sentimental. Still, Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons do solid work, and if you want a gentle, earnest historical drama rather than something formally bold, it will likely do the job.