TIFF 2015: DEV PATEL & JEREMY IRONS STAR IN THE TRUE STORY “THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY”

The film follows Ramanujan (Patel) from his humble roots in Madras — where opportunities for someone of Ramanujan’s abilities are few — to Cambridge University, where the young prodigy’s visionary theories attract the attention of English mathematician G.H. Hardy (Irons). The chance to work in the same hallowed halls where Isaac Newton formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation is a dream come true for Ramanujan, but also proves to be a sort of nightmare. His colleagues, unable to see beyond his dark skin and unfamiliar culture, harass and humiliate him, while Hardy insists that Ramanujan deliver countless proofs before being allowed to publish his work.

This sweeping historical film focuses on the high science and the tragic repercussions of racism amongst the ostensibly enlightened is a testament to the wonder and precariousness of genius — and the power of friendship to change the world.