X+Y

Not to be confused with X/Y.
X+Y

British film poster
Directed by Morgan Matthews
Produced by David M. Thompson
Laura Hastings-Smith
Written by James Graham
Starring
Cinematography Danny Cohen
Production
company
Origin Pictures
Minnow Films
Distributed by Koch Media (UK)
Samuel Goldwyn Films (USA)
Release dates
  • 5 September 2014 (2014-09-05) (TIFF)
  • 13 March 2015 (2015-03-13) (United Kingdom)
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Box office $1.2 million[1]

X+Y, released in the US as A Brilliant Young Mind, is a 2014 British drama film directed by Morgan Matthews starring Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins.[2][3]

The film, inspired by the documentary, Beautiful Young Minds,[4] focuses on a teenage English mathematics prodigy named Nathan (Asa Butterfield) who has difficulty understanding people, but finds comfort in numbers. When he is chosen to represent the United Kingdom at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), Nathan embarks on a journey in which he faces unexpected challenges, such as understanding the nature of love. The character of Nathan was based on Daniel Lightwing who won a silver medal at the 2006 IMO.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September 2014.[6][12][13] The European premiere[6] was at the BFI London Film Festival on 13 October 2014,[14] and the UK cinema release was on 13 March 2015.[11]

The film heavily features previously recorded songs by Keaton Henson.

Cast

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 86% approval rating with a weighted average score of 6.6/10 based on 74 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "A Brilliant Young Mind is tender and perceptive – and intelligent enough to find a wealth of dramatic riches buried under well-trod narrative ground."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[16]

Departures from the true story

The main character Nathan Ellis is based on mathematical genius Daniel Lightwing who has Asperger syndrome. Lightwing had a teacher who saw his potential and became his mentor, however his mentor was not a man but a woman named Miggy Biller who is the Head of Maths at York College. In the film the IMO takes place in Cambridge, England but the actual event that Lightwing participated in was in Slovenia. The training camp took place in China where Daniel fell in love with a Chinese woman whom he married (they are no longer together).

Lightwing's mentor Miggy Biller attended the film's premiere and told the York College newsletter: "We sat beside each other at the showing, chuckling together about some of the film’s maths problems. It was funny to look at the line between fact and fiction being trod all the time by the film! Dan’s Dad, sitting just behind us, saw himself killed in a car accident … and I don’t think I need to say that I didn’t recognise myself in Rafe Spall!" She went on to say, "It’s a brilliant and very moving film, and Asa Butterfield is amazing.” Lightwing told the Evening Standard, "I cried the first three times I watched it. It says things I was feeling but could not express."[17]

References

  1. ↑ "X+Y (2015)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "BBC Films: X+Y".
  3. ↑ "X Plus Y IMDb Page". IMDb.
  4. ↑ "X Plus Y announces cast". BBC Films.
  5. ↑ Newby, Dr Jonica (28 August 2008). "The World of Asperger's". ABC.net.au. Government of Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Asperger teenager's inspiring story hits big screen". YorkshirePost.co.uk. Yorkshire Post Newspapers. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Hutchinson, Charles (19 March 2015). "Meet the York College student who inspired the film X+Y". Yorkpress.co.uk. Newsquest Media Group and Gannett Company. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Butter, Susannah (19 March 2015). "'With Asperger's you put on a mask to pretend you're normal': Daniel Lightwing on how the film of his life helps take the stigma out of autism". Standard.co.uk. Alexander Lebedev. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Lightwing, Daniel (11 May 2015). "Early Childhood and an Introduction to Maths". HuffingtonPost.co.uk. AOL. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Baron-Cohen, Simon (September 2015). "Autism, maths, and sex: the special triangle". TheLancet.com. Elsevier. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  11. 1 2 Lewis, Haydn (3 October 2014). "Movie based on life of York maths genius". YorkPress.co.uk. Newsquest Media Group and Gannett Company. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Festival – What's On – September 5". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "X+Y (programme note)". TIFF.net. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "X+Y". BFI.
  15. ↑ "A Brilliant Young Mind (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "A Brilliant Young Mind Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Is 'A Brilliant Young Mind' A True Story? Here's How the Movie Differs From the Real Events, by Allie Funk, Bustle.com, September 11, 2015
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