''The Professor and the Madman'' is a 2019 biographical
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia ( fa, فرهاد صفینیا Farhād Safīnīyā; born 1975) is an Iranian-American screenwriter, film/TV producer and director, best known for '' Apocalypto'', ''Boss'', and ''The Professor and the Madman''. He was credite ...
(under the pseudonym P. B. Shemran), from a screenplay by Safinia and
Todd Komarnicki
Todd Komarnicki (born 19 October 1965 in Long Beach, CA) is an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and producer.
Career
He authored the play ''Beautiful Boy'', produced in a theater in Los Angeles in 1993, and that same yea ...
based on the 1998 book ''
The Surgeon of Crowthorne
''The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words'' is a non-fiction history book by British writer Simon Winchester, first published in England in 1998. It was retitled ''The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murde ...
'' (published in the United States as ''The Professor and the Madman'') by Simon Winchester. It stars
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
,
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
Jeremy Irvine
Jeremy William Fredric Smith (born 18 June 1990), known professionally as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor who made his film debut in the epic war film ''War Horse'' (2011). In 2012, he portrayed Philip "Pip" Pirrip in the film adaptation of ...
,
David O'Hara
David Patrick O'Hara (born 9 July 1965) is a Scottish stage and character actor. A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, he is best known to audiences for his numerous supporting roles in high-profile films; includi ...
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
.
The film is about professor James Murray, who in 1879 became director of an
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
project, ''The New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'' (now known as the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'') and the man who became his friend and colleague, W. C. Minor, a doctor who submitted more than 10,000 entries while he was confined at
Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secur ...
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
in 2016, the film became part of a legal battle between Gibson and Safinia against
Voltage Pictures
Voltage Pictures is an American film production and distribution company founded by Nicolas Chartier in 2005. It has assembled over 180 motion pictures, earning the company a total of two Golden Globe Awards and nine Academy Awards.
Recent fil ...
, delaying its release until 2019 and resulting in the pair disowning the final product.
Plot
In
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
surgeon, is found not guilty by reason of insanity for killing an innocent stranger, George Merritt, and is sent to Broadmoor.
In
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, William Murray interviews for a position as editor of what will become the
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
. An
autodidact
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...
, he left school at 14 and has no degree. Some
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
oversight committee members are contemptuous, but Freddie Furnivall describes their current "abject defeat", saying that the extraordinary Murray may be what they need. When
Max Müller
Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...
haughtily asks for qualifications, Murray reels off the long list of ancient and modern languages in which he is proficient and on demand provides a definition—and probable origins—of the word "clever".
Over dinner with the committee, Murray hears opposing views. Müller insists that it capture English at its current "purest peak" and setting strict rules for correct speech. Furnivall says that "all words are valid in the language. Ancient or new, obsolete or robust on, foreign born or homegrown. The book must inventory every word, every nuance, every twist of etymology and every possible illustrated citation from every English author. All of it or nothing at all."
Murray has a solution to this daunting task: Enlist volunteers from everywhere English is spoken. He writes an appeal to English-speaking people around the world, asking them to send their contributions on slips of paper. Booksellers, librarians and newsagents distribute it. The slips pile up.
Meanwhile Doctor Brayne receives Minor, who is tormented by flashbacks to the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. In a moment of lucidity, he saves a guard's life by amputating his leg. He asks that most of his army pension be given to Eliza Merritt, his victim's widow. Muncie, a guard, delivers it personally. She refuses. Brayne promises to protect him from his pursuer, gives him room to paint and allows him his library of rare books.
Eliza turns to prostitution. When Muncie brings Christmas dinner to the family, she asks to see Minor and accepts his support. Muncie and the guards give Minor a book that contains Murray's appeal. Minor tells Brayne that he will be "all right" with this work and more books. Soon a profusion of slips lines his room. Minor submits 1,000 slips and offers to take on the most elusive words, giving his address as "Crowthorne". The correspondence continues.
Minor tells Eliza his life belongs to her.
Murray arrives at Broadmoor unannounced, bringing a
fascicle
Fascicle or ''fasciculus'' may refer to:
Anatomy and histology
* Muscle fascicle, a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers
* Nerve fascicle, a bundle of axons (nerve fibers)
** Superior longitudinal fasciculus
*** Arcuate fasciculus
** Gracile fas ...
to Minor believing that he is a staff member. Murray eventually sees the shackles but is not daunted. "You are not alone—consanguineous", he says. Brayne encourages his visits.
Minor offers to teach Eliza to read and write. "It is freedom", he says. Brayne has hope, but one day Eliza kisses Minor. That night, crying "I have killed him again in your heart", Minor cuts off his penis, sends his library to Murray and withdraws, sending even Murray away.
Vol. 1 is published. Murray receives an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from Oxford and Jowett and Gell plot to remove him.
A newspaper publishes an article about the madman and the dictionary. Murray rushes to Broadmoor to find Minor unresponsive. Eliza brings him out of it.
Jowett tells Murray that he will soon lose his post, but Furnivall reassures him: He has some "tricks" for Jowett and Gell.
Eliza asks Murray, "If I've forgiven him, why should they go on punishing him?" They get a hearing but Minor cannot be released. Furnivall and Murray appeal to the
home secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, who has Minor deported to the United States. Murray comes to say good bye. Furnivall has a copy of the dictionary's new cover, bearing a royal seal of patronage, granted to "Dr James A. H. Murray". "The fortunate thing about these awful people is they believe in the divine right of rule ... So we use it against them. Your book is safe, James. You are safe at its helm ..."
Murray and his family are seen in the garden, behind text that describes the fates of the professor, the madman and the book.
Cast
Production
French director Luc Besson handed Mel Gibson the project, saying, "It isn't my first language. Maybe you can do something with this". Gibson, who originally intended to direct, hired his ''
Apocalypto
''Apocalypto'' () is a 2006 action adventure film produced, co-written, and directed by Mel Gibson. The film features a cast of Native American and Indigenous Mexican actors consisting of Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo, Mayra Sérbulo, Dalia H ...
'' co-screenwriter
Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia ( fa, فرهاد صفینیا Farhād Safīnīyā; born 1975) is an Iranian-American screenwriter, film/TV producer and director, best known for '' Apocalypto'', ''Boss'', and ''The Professor and the Madman''. He was credite ...
to replace him, while he remained in the role of James Murray.
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
entered early talks to join the film as William Chester Minor in August 2016. In August,
Natalie Dormer
Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Ioan Gruffudd joined the cast.
Filming commenced in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
in September 2016.
Legal issues
In July 2017, Gibson and his production company Icon Productions sued the production company Voltage Pictures over their desire to control certain aspects of the production. Among other things, it was alleged that Voltage Pictures refused to schedule a "critical” five days of filming in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and that the director was denied final cut privileges.
On June 19, 2018, Judge Ruth Kwan of the
Los Angeles County Superior Court
The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The ...
denied Gibson's motion for summary adjudication. The multiple lawsuits were the subject of a confidential settlement in April 2019. Gibson and Safinia issued statements distancing themselves from the project and calling the version released by Voltage "a bitter disappointment". They did not participate in the promotion of the film. Safinia was not recognized for directing or co-writing the film, being credited instead under a pseudonym, "P. B. Shemran".
Release
Theatrical release in markets outside the U.S. began in March and April 2019. In January 2019, Vertical Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. The U.S. release date was May 10, 2019, with simultaneous limited theatrical release and video on demand.
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on August 13, 2019, by Lionsgate Films. It was released through the movie rental company Redbox on Blu-ray Disc. It was widely released on DVD in the United States on the same date.
Critical reception
On the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Nick Allen of ''
RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
'' gave the film 1½ out of 4 stars, calling it "the latest fiasco in bad movie history... the presence of Gibson and his co-star Sean Penn give the project a stuffy sanctimoniousness." Likewise, Jay Weissberg, reviewing for '' Variety'', was more critical and stated: "For those that have been anticipating this curious, much-delayed oddity, the good news is that Gibson is fine; it's everything else that doesn't work."
In contrast, Tara McNamara, writing for Common Sense Media, said that: "Despite the fact that both the star/producer and the director have disavowed it, this isn't a bad film; it's beautifully shot and sensationally acted, and it tells a fascinating real-life story."