Brilliance is No Simple Matter
By Skip Sheffield
It’s not easy being smart. “A Brilliant Young Mind”
dramatizes the trials of a 14-year-old British math genius named Nathan (Asa
Butterfield of “Hugo”) when he wins a spot on the national British team competing at the
International Mathematical Olympiad in Taiwan. The script by James Graham was inspired
by director Morgan Matthews’ film documentary “Beautiful Young Minds.” The
story begins with Nathan at age 9 witnessing the traumatic death of his father
in a gruesome auto crash. It then flashes forward to Nathan at 14. He is very
shy and awkward around other people, but his math teacher, Martin Humphreys
(Rafe Spall), recognizes his brilliance and encourages Nathan to try out for
one of the six available spots on the British team.
Watching a bunch of brainy young kids solving math problems
is not very entertaining, so attention is paid to Nathan’s windowed mother
Julie (Sally Hawkins) and her boyfriend who is trying to be a substitute
father. It’s no spoiler to reveal Nathan makes the team and travels to Taiwan
where he meets a lovely young female genius named Zhang Mei (Jo Yang). Love
blossoms against the backdrop of intense intellectual competition. It culminates with the world IMO competition at Cambridge University back in England, where
the dramatic climax takes place.
If nothing else, “Brilliant Young Mind” demonstrates
brainiacs have their difficulties just as ordinary people do. In fact they may
have more.
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