The Professor and the Madman (2019)

It's apparent that unless there are s'plosions and CGI, the imbecilic critics (and most marvel fans) will hate it. This is a timeless film; well acted, a slice of history often forgotten. It should be seen by anyone with sense.

Fmovies: A few years ago I started to wonder if Hollywood creativity is dry? Now, with this epic movie; not in its events, but in its richness on both the human and artistic sides. A representative performance at the highest level. Four characters centered around; the character of Professor James Murray, played by Mel Gibson and his wife Ada Murray, played by Jennifer Ehle and Dr. William Chester Minor, played by Sean Penn and the wife of the murdered Eliza Merrett, played by Natalie Dormer. These personalities were at the top of their artistic representation, not to mention the characterization of the character and the depth of the human dimension of each. I humbly think that this film will enter Oscar 2020 nominations as the best film and another nomination for the best actor performance to Shin Bin.

I can because of you......

Heart wrenching masterpiece in all its glory and heartbreak. Do yourself a favor and watch something that will benefit your soul and restore your faith in humanity.

The Professor and the Madman fmovies. I could write much on the accolades this film deserves but will stick to the basics of why this film is great.

Acting across the board is spectacular. Penn and Gibson are in top form and have great chemistry. Coogan and Marsan are also in top form as usual. Ehle and Dormer do a terrific job in bringing that soft feminine touch much needed to balance out the relationships between the main characters.

The film has its emotional ups and downs while staying on point to tell the amazing story of how the most important English dictionary came to be. It is a testament to the difficulty and perseverance needed to accomplish such a Herculean task in defining the vast English language and the trials and tribulations endured to realize its completion.

The beauty of this film is in the storytelling of the relationship between the two main characters. The Scottich wordsmith and an American surgeon who suffers from mental illness.

In order to not divulge more about the narrative I will just end by stating this is a powerful film that will leave you feeling many emotions. A triumphant accomplishment! Time well spent.

Unforeseen: when a movie about people LITERALLY writing a dictionary turns out to be captivating, specially the further it strays from the actual dictionary-writing. "The Professor and the Madman" features Sean Penn and Mel Gibson both retaking characteristics from some of their better-known, pre-controversy roles, with Gibson going back to the "Braveheart" Scottish accent and Penn to the "Dead Man Walking" maybe-redeemable inmate murderer; resulting in a very strong on-screen chemistry.

By the time this movie is released in most markets, its fame will likely stem from its legal issues which lead to Mel Gibson basically disavowing it and director Farhad Safinia doing so in full (the movie is credited to "P.B. Shemran", an Alan Smithee-like alias if there's ever been one). I find this decision suprising as for most of the film I could have easily bought this as a Mel Gibson-directed work. As a filmmaker, he might not have the strongest of auteurial signatures, but said signature that can most easily be defined in the depiction of gore, a fascination with language and Christian faith elements (most obvious in "The Passion of the Christ" and "Hacksaw Ridge"), definitely makes an appearance here.

Not content with Gibson-like directorial decisions, the screenplay fortunately digs deeper into some topics than any Gibson script has. Penn's character's arc in particular is well-developed in creating empathy towards the mentally ill, which is still not common enough nowadays, nevermind in a time when phrenology was still a valid study. The word "redemption", so rare yet supposed to be the most Christian of virtues as well, gets a very strong definition with this character arc. Obsession is touched upon as well, not to Aronofsky-an levels, but still enough to be worthy of a mention.

Considering the unforeseen depth of the treatment of these topics, it's truly unfortunate that there are some cases where the movie relies of the most shallow of tropes to force tension. The worst case of this is the almost-mustache-twirling-villain characters, with no depth or motive beyond antagonizing and foiling our brave heroes. One case in particular is not as tragic when a (until then) well-developed and rounded character inexplicably takes that villanous turn, at least having given us a solid base before. Additionally, the visuals suffer with some establishing shots clearly having made with inferior digital video quality, creating a jarring effect that takes you out of the movie. All in all, despite these shortcomings, "The Professor and the Madman" is a worthy story that goes into unanticipated and fortuitous depths, intensities, profoundities.

Of those movies that teach you to value life. Let's see what you did wrong and a way to amend your path. The importance of forgiveness and love, between reason and madness. I think it's one of the best movies of recent years and with a brutally magnificent Sean Penn, perhaps with his most legendary performance, and that's hard to say with a resume like his. In short, a very well directed film, with emotionally descriptive scenes and with a cast of the first order. Do not go looking for shots, bursts of simultaneous action and rampant sex. You will not find them. I recommend this movie for people who see beyond the basics. For a moment I am grateful that I did not pay attention to Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.