Movie Review - A Brilliant Young Mind

A Brilliant Young Mind ***½ (out of 5) (NR) In this thoughtful British dramedy, young Nathan is a math prodigy, but a joyless one. Besides the burden of some form of Autism that isolates him emotionally and socially, his father’s death in a car crash deprives him of the person who came closest to connecting with him, leaving his mom (the brilliant Sally Hawkins) with the overwhelming task of raising a high-maintenance son who lacks the capacity to receive her love, appreciate her efforts or tolerate any deviations from daily routines his condition compels. Fortunately, in middle school Nathan acquires a mentor who starts preparing him to compete for England in an international math Olympiad, somewhat reducing his loneliness with at least a semi-kindred spirit and sense of purpose.

The film hastens through Nathan’s childhood to get him to high school and the year of the competition, with occasional flashbacks thereafter. He makes the first cut, which allows him to travel with his peers for advanced training and testing in Taiwan. It’s still tough for Nathan to fit in with his fellow math nerds, but things do improve, especially when he’s paired with a girl from their main rival, China, for the rigorous two-week “boot camp”.

Stories like this generally follow a Rocky-esque format of underdog struggle and triumph, whether it’s a Daniel-San beating the larger bullies in Karate matches, or inner-city schools shocking everyone by outperforming their more privileged peers for the first time ever, thanks to the respect and inspiration of a new teacher or principal who refuses to believe their destinies must be so bleak. This one varies smartly from the norm, with realistically flawed characters and plausible story arcs. Instead of magical cures for all their problems, or overkill on the sentimentality side, the gains for these folks seem so organic and proportionate that the script could have been based on a true story. It wasn’t, but we can all hope it’s reflective of progress in diagnosing and treating medical conditions like Nathan’s, which would make life better for everyone. (9/25/15)