The Oxford Murders – 2008

From the first couple of scenes you’d half expect to see Inspector Morse and Lewis step out from behind one of the great pillars that surround Oxford University, sadly that is not going to be the case here.

The story in itself could have been taken right out of an Agatha Christie novel but the subsequent plot gets mixed up like the mathematical equation it is trying to lay out.

John Hurt plays Arthur Seldom a university professor whose life revolves around mathematical equations and whether or not we can prove truth and probability, Martin (Elijah Wood) is a graduate over from America looking at using Seldom to help him with his thesis.

The pair get mixed up in an altogether different set of circumstances when they must work together to solve a series of murders based around mathematical symbols.

The Oxford Murders falls some way short of delivering on any tension or drama for that matter, which is a real shame. The script is over complicated and there is no real time to develop the characters before we are thrown head first into the first murder.

All in all it seemed rushed together, more strangely was the choice of director Spanish born Álex de la Iglesia who also wrote the screenplay. A background largely based around foreign film I find it odd that he should have any idea about the true reflections of historic Oxford.

Maybe that is where amongst other things The Oxford Murders falls down, in the hands of a more traditional English director we may have had a better outcome.

View the trailer

Rating: (2/5)

Visit the IMDb page for The Oxford Murders

DVD Extras: Making of featurette

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