X+Y | Kevin Barrett's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘X+Y’

I Like You More Than I Like Ice Cream

Posted in General Comments, Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, tagged A Brilliant Young Mind (2014) — movie review, Asa Butterfield, Autism, BAFTA, Eddie Marsan, General Comments, IMO, International Mathematical Olympiad, Jo Yang, Julie Ellis, Movie Reviews, Mr. Humphreys, Nathan Ellis, Rafe Spall, Reviews, Sally Hawkins, Strong Movie Recommendation, Taiwan, X+Y, Zhang Mei on May 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“A Brilliant Young Mind” (2014) — movie review
Today’s review is for the British drama “A Brilliant Young Mind”, starring Asa Butterfield as Nathan Ellis (a teenage math prodigy on the autism spectrum trying to make sense of people and emotions); Sally Hawkins as Julie Ellis (Nathan’s loving but struggling mother who wants to reach him but doesn’t know how); Rafe Spall as Mr. Humphreys (Nathan’s math teacher dealing with his own health and confidence issues); Eddie Marsan as Richard (the stern head of the UK math team); and Jo Yang as Zhang Mei (a fellow competitor who helps Nathan open up a little).

Background: I watched this film a few years back under its original title “X+Y,” (original review here) so this is my second viewing. “A Brilliant Young Mind” didn’t get a lot of mainstream attention, but it did receive a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Historically, it’s notable for being one of the few films to treat a young autistic character seriously without turning him into a stereotype or a plot device.

Plot: Nathan is a young boy who understands numbers better than he does people. He is on the autism spectrum. After his father dies in a car accident, he pulls further inward, leaving his mother struggling to connect with him. As he grows older, his math ability becomes more obvious, and he ends up working with Mr. Humphreys, a once-promising mathematician whose own life has gone sideways. Nathan eventually earns a spot at the International Mathematical Olympiad training camp in Taiwan. There, he meets Zhang Mei, another gifted student who slowly helps him open up. The film follows Nathan’s emotional and social challenges, his mother’s attempts to reach him, and Mr. Humphreys’ personal struggles. The story builds toward the IMO competition, but the real focus is on Nathan learning how to connect with the people who care about him.

So, is this movie any good? How’s the acting? The filming / FX? Any problems? And, did I enjoy the film? Short answers: Yes; very good; simple and effective; a few; yes.

Any good? Yes. This is a small, quiet film that works because it stays focused on the characters instead of trying to be a big “math movie.” The emotional moments feel honest, and the story doesn’t force a neat ending. It’s more about small steps than big breakthroughs.

Acting: Butterfield does a very good job playing Nathan with restraint and believe-ability. Sally Hawkins is excellent as his mother: warm, patient, and hurting. Rafe Spall brings humor and sadness to Mr. Humphreys. Jo Yang is steady and likable as Zhang Mei. The cast fits the tone of the film.

Filming / FX: The filming is simple and grounded. A few scenes use visual touches to show how Nathan sees patterns, but nothing flashy. The Taiwan sequences add color and energy. The movie looks clean and straightforward, which suits the story.

Problems: A few. Some of the story beats feel familiar if you’ve seen other “gifted kid” films. A couple of side characters don’t get much development. And the pacing slows down in the middle. Nothing major, but noticeable.

Did I enjoy the film? Yes. It’s sincere and easy to watch. The relationships, especially between Nathan and his mother, give the film its heart. It’s not a big emotional roller coaster, but it’s touching in a quiet way.

Final Recommendation: Strong recommendation. “A Brilliant Young Mind” is a thoughtful, well-acted drama with a grounded approach to both math and neurodiversity. It’s definitely worth watching if you like character-driven stories with a human center.

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Click here (3 May) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Luke, I AM Your Father

Posted in Movie Review, Movies, Quotes, Reviews, tagged 1 CORINTHIANS 4:15, 10000 Saints -- movie review, Asa Butterfield, Avan Jogia, Diane Urbanski, Eliza Urbanski, Emile Hirsch, Emily Mortimer, Ender's Game, Ethan Hawke, Freon, Hailee Steinfeld, Harriet Horn, Hawkeye, Hugo, Johnny, Jude Keffy-Horn, Julianne Nicholson, Les Keffy, Moderate Movie Recommendation, New York City, NYC, Quotes, StarWars, Teddy McNicholas, Ten Thousand Saints -- movie review, The Bible, The Newsroom, True Grit, X+Y on June 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“10,000 Saints” (2015) — movie review
This review is for the 2015 coming of age drama “10,000 Saints” (aka: “Ten Thousand Saints“). My version uses the numbers and not the words in its title. The movie stars Asa Butterfield as Jude Keffy-Horn (main character); Ethan Hawke as Les Keffy (Jude’s dad); Hailee Steinfeld as Eliza Urbanski; Emily Mortimer as Diane Urbanski (Eliza’s mom); Julianne Nicholson as Harriet Horn (Jude’s mom); Avan Jogia as Teddy McNicholas (Jude’s best friend); and Emile Hirsch as Johnny (Teddy’s brother).

Basically, Harriet is raising Jude in a small town in Vermont. Les lives in New York City and is dating Diane. For some poorly explained reason Les and Diane send Diane’s daughter (Eliza) to visit Jude on New Year’s Eve. Eliza shares drugs with Jude’s best friend (Teddy) and they (Eliza and Teddy) proceed to have sex. Eliza goes home and Jude and Teddy steal some Freon to get high which results in Teddy dying.

Blah, blah, blah… Funeral. Everyone feels guilty. Jude moves to NYC to live with his dad (Les) because going to NYC was Teddy’s dream for them to escape Vermont.

Les is a small time pot grower and no-account, but he welcomes his son into his “home”. Eliza discovers she is pregnant and turns to Jude because she has nowhere else to go.

Blah, blah, blah… They meet Teddy’s older brother, who turns out to be gay, but who promises to marry Eliza and help raise the baby out of guilt about his brother (Teddy).

Blah, blah, blah… Eliza has a baby boy. Jude holds it. Eliza puts the baby up for adoption. (Adoption and “good” parenting are two BIG plot points in this movie.) End of movie narration. It’s some years later and the baby is now playing soccer in a park. Jude’s voice narrates that Eliza is about to start a family and he already has one.

So, is this a good / great movie as either “coming of age” or as “drama”. No. It’s a mildly interesting movie at best. I have to admit I really only picked this movie up because I’ve been haphazardly trying to follow Butterfield’s career. I really enjoyed him in “Ender’s Game” and “X+Y” and thought he was pretty good in “Hugo“. I’m not a big fan or Hawke and I only “recognize” Mortimer by face (from “Newsroom” and not by name). I “really” should know Steinfeld as I’ve seen her the most of all of these actors, but I didn’t recognize her name and just had that sense of “I should know you, but don’t.” She also played major characters / roles in “Ender’s Game“, Marvel’s “Hawkeye” and the remake of “True Grit“. Overall, the acting by all of the cast was pretty good to very good. I particularly liked Hawke and now feel obliged to go back and have a look at some of his earlier work. LoL.

I guess my biggest problem with the movie is there is no attempt to explain why the two lead teen characters become the way they are since they both appear to have been raised by loving mothers. We seem to be led to the conclusion, that somehow not having fathers in their lives is the reason the kids have turned out the way they have. Having personally been raised by a single, working mother, I found this mildly offensive.

Side note: Jude and Johnny are in a “band”. They play a couple of songs in the movie as a plot device. I say that because although the music isn’t to my taste, it fills a couple of minutes and provides a reason for the lead characters to be developed / “fleshed out”. Actually, I couldn’t stand the music, but I did “enjoy” watching the guitar players fake performing. This is something I would have never given a thought to if I wasn’t trying to learn guitar myself. Again, LoL!!

Final recommendation: At best this gets a moderate recommendation. The acting (expressions and dialog) was mostly okay to good, but it was just too hard to believe any of the characters were real and / or doing what was happening in the movie. It was also difficult for me to place myself in NYC, Vermont and New England back in the 1980’s (when the movie was set). I’m not sure why, it just was. All in all, it’s not a bad movie, and certainly not a waste of time viewing, but it’s also not a movie which I can’t wait to see again (even in a few years).

Post-script: the movie title comes from a line of dialog in the movie. At Teddy’s funeral, the minister is trying to express that some people believe we have ten thousand saints looking down from heaven and watching out for us. The “source” of this is a loose interpretation from the Bible:

1 CORINTHIANS 4:15
For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

The post title is a reference to StarWars and is a play on one of the reveals in the movie. It (the reveal) is not a shocker to us (the audience), but it is to one of the characters.

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Click here (14 June) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.