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- 2015
- PG-13
- Samuel Goldwyn Films
- 1 h 51 m
- 2015
- PG-13
- Samuel Goldwyn Films
- 1 h 51 m
Summary Preferring to hide in the safety of his own private world, Nathan (Asa Butterfield) struggles to connect with people, often pushing away those who want to be closest to him, including his mother, Julie (Sally Hawkins). Without the ability to understand love or affection, Nathan finds the comfort and security he needs in numbers and mathe...
Directed By: Morgan Matthews
Written By: James Graham, Morgan Matthews
- 2015
- PG-13
- Samuel Goldwyn Films
- 1 h 51 m
- 2015
- PG-13
- Samuel Goldwyn Films
- 1 h 51 m
A Brilliant Young Mind
65
6.7
Where to Watch
Summary Preferring to hide in the safety of his own private world, Nathan (Asa Butterfield) struggles to connect with people, often pushing away those who want to be closest to him, including his mother, Julie (Sally Hawkins). Without the ability to understand love or affection, Nathan finds the comfort and security he needs in numbers and mathe...
Directed By: Morgan Matthews
Written By: James Graham, Morgan Matthews
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
65
58% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
32% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
11% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
65
58% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
32% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
11% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
A Brilliant Young Mind doesn't fit into any familiar inspirational box. Many of its characters are complex, contrary individuals who are not even close to being comfortable in their own skins, and this film refuses to shortchange how frustratingly edgy and difficult they are to interact with.
This warm, robust movie ultimately transcends the formulas with which it flirts to become a far more subtle and honest result than a machine-tooled tear-jerker like “The Theory of Everything.” When the film doesn’t try to build up the usual suspense found in movies about competition, you sigh with relief.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 User Ratings
6.7
62% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
31% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
8% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 User Ratings
6.7
62% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
31% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
8% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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WHAT I LIKED: This makes you laugh, cry, feel tense and emotional - 'x+y' is a film to which all character films should be compared. Few movies capture the magic of so many characters whilst still retaining the tension and beauty to keep audiences engaged throughout. The acting is truly incredible and helps protray some serious messages in a delicate and beautiful way. Plus the danger of over-pretenciousness being avoided, this film deserves every reward it won and then some.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The story needs an extra 5 minutes at the end to develop. That's literally it.
VERDICT: A melodrama that doesn't bore or be 'arty for arts sake' is a rare gem. To make it this good is just outstanding.
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The film’s magic is how it slips the skin of sappy and mendacious formula, stepping away from cliché scene by scene, and in quietly revelatory ways.
Without the performances and splash of style as support, the film would collapse, because the story is indisputably boxed inside a square of standard dimensions.
This is an attractively unparochial drama with a bracing interest in excellence.
There’s a nice candor and sweetness about the players, especially Butterfield and Sally Hawkins as his mother.
The film focuses on Nathan's emotions and backstage dramas in ways that generally feel forced or inauthentic.
A Brilliant Young Mind takes the normal everyday life of Nathan looking for a girl called Zhang Mei and they want to start making a friendship out of these two characters. Also known as X+Y on the United Kingdom.
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Great movie about an autistic child from the child's point of view. Shows the relationship with his parents, how he reacts to their efforts to reach him. And how he relates to other children his age as he grows up. Would have given it a higher score but the last 5 minutes turned into a typical "Hollywood" ending, and this film is British. I expect better from the Brits.
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Art enlightens, surprises, and fascinates: Morgan Matthews's A Brilliant Young Mind does just that. When I go to a movie, I like to learn something new; a movie should provide an insight into a topic. This movie provides deep insight into what it is like parenting and teaching someone who is "gifted:" in the case of Nathan (the main character), Austism/Aspergers. Although I know that the tv series Parenthood has a character with Autism, this movie deals with Autism in a more holistic way. The movie's focus on Nathan's budding romance with Zhang Mei was a surprise and a delight because it shows that Nathan can indeed form deep emotional bonds with others; previous movies about extremely intelligent characters such as A Beautiful Mind and Parenthood make it seem impossible. I would have to agree with other critics that the ending was a bit disappointing. It was disappointing because it didn't wrap up all the questions that the movie raised: 1. how does nathan's teacher overcome his addiction to painkillers? 2. does nathan go on to be a successful math star? 3. does nathan end up being able to adapt to the world? I'm not convinced that he does with this current movie ending. The greater issue is about the "realness" of this movie. No where in the movie does it say that this is based upon a true story. Other commentaries say that Nathan is loosely based off of a real IMO student. Why doesn't the director have that written in at the beginning or ending? The movie feels like a documentary, but it is fiction (as far as I can tell). So does that mean I should question the "realness" of the portrayal of a student with Autism? Did the director research a real student/family and try to do an authentic representation or is the story somehow inauthentically packaged to make it appealing to a wider audience?
Overall, this movie was intriguing and it was definitely worth going to see.
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Watched this movie on Amazon Prime. Interesting story, but very low-key. Granted, the main character was extremely introverted. More predictable than enjoyable for me.
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Can you give up what you're good at for a girl.
I was fascinated by its storyline, reviews and ratings, but it did not deliver what I was expected. In fact, it fell simple and dull because of the end. Some people will accept it, but not me. For me it was neither good nor bad. Sometimes I don't care even it was cliched conclusion, if it's the best thing for the story to have. So this film tried to avoid it and there I lost my interest in this.
Like I said the initial parts were very good. Had a very good character called Nathan, a teenage mathematics prodigy. The movie narrates his journey to prepare for participating in one of the most prestigious international competition to represent his country. He gets trained by a finest teacher in the country and remaining tells whether he makes it or not.
Actually the film was partially based on one of the Britain's participants from the 2006's IMO, short for International Mathematical Olympiad. Directed by a documentary filmmaker who was inspired by one of his films based on the same theme involving the original main character from this movie.
It's not a biography or a completely based on the real, it just inspired and changed entirely for the cinematic presentation. I thought, it was about a genius boy and the competition, but the romance track overhauled and took me as a surprise. Not bad at all, I liked the way the girl and the boy getting to know each other, like similar to the cultural exchange program. Excluding the ending part, it was a good film. That's what I felt, maybe it will be an awesome film for you. The only way to find out is to check it out by yourself.
6/10
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Production Company
BBC Film,
British Film Institute (BFI),
Head Gear Films,
Metrol Technology,
Screen Yorkshire,
Lipsync Productions,
Origin Pictures,
Minnow Films
Release Date Sep 11, 2015
Duration 1 h 51 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline Is there a formula for love?
Awards
British Independent Film Awards
• 4 Nominations
BUFF International Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Ale Kino! - International Young Audience Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
