You are here:

The Man Who Knew Infinity

The Man Who Knew Infinity

Representation Score

3.1/10

Limited

2016

PG-13

Director

Matt Brown

Runtime

108 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film presents a compelling post-colonial narrative that challenges the traditional 'Great Man' historical cliché. By focusing on Ramanujan's journey, it questions the dominance of Western academic traditions and acknowledges non-Western ways of knowing. However, the film's impact is constrained by its narrow demographic focus. The intellectual world is portrayed as an exclusively male space, and the absence of LGBTQ+ representation upholds a conventional social framework. Overall, the film effectively explores cultural friction, even though it remains socially conservative in its gender and identity portrayals.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Man Who Knew Infinity have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film adheres to a strictly heterosexual and cisgender framework, with no representations of LGBTQ+ identities or same-sex relationships.

How does The Man Who Knew Infinity portray gender?

Limited

The narrative emphasizes male intellectual leadership, positioning female characters on the periphery and framing the academic struggle as a predominantly male domain.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Man Who Knew Infinity?

Excellent

The film highlights a Brahmin Hindu mathematician within a colonial-era Cambridge setting, providing substantial ability to act to a character of color while avoiding superficial exoticism.

How does The Man Who Knew Infinity represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story delves into the tension between faith-based intuition and Western empirical methods, validating alternative cultural frameworks of knowledge against rigid academic structures.

Does The Man Who Knew Infinity include disability representation?

Minimal

Physical illness and mental exhaustion are depicted as biographical realities, but they do not serve as central disability narratives or primary plot devices.

Present on Screen

  • Centers a non-Western protagonist within a dominant Anglo-Saxon institution.
  • Provides substantial ability to act to a character of color through a deep, non-exoticized portrayal.
  • Challenges Western epistemological supremacy by validating intuitive, faith-based mathematical discovery.

Limited or Absent

  • Increase the presence and ability to act of female characters within the academic narrative.
  • Expand the scope of representation to include LGBTQ+ identities.
  • Move beyond a strictly male-centric and straight-centered social framework.

Official Synopsis

Growing up poor in Madras, India, Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar earns admittance to Cambridge University during WWI, where he becomes a pioneer in mathematical theories with the guidance of his professor, G.H. Hardy.

How are these scores produced? →

Where to Watch

Rate this Movie

No rating selected
Use arrow keys to select a rating from 1 to 5 stars
Optional text review, maximum 2000 characters
Tip: Wrap spoilers with ||double pipes|| to hide them
0/2000 characters
You must be signed in to submit a rating

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie!

Use the rating form above to leave a star rating and optional review.