X+Y (2014, UK)
We are all of us, whether we acknowledge them or not, part of a family. We’ve all had mothers and fathers (or, at least, someone who looked after us when we were growing up), and some of us have children of our own. Tieing us to our families is this mysterious thing called “love.” It’s a lot more than just some necessary biological bond, and rather more than simply one of the consequences of our evolution as social creatures. It’s indefinable, indescribable, ineffable – and yet we know it precisely when we see it and feel it. “I wanna know what love is,” warbles Foreigner in that 80s power ballad that’s a staple of easy-listening radio. I’m not sure you could get a better depiction of how fierce and powerful love can be than its portrayal in this film.
X + Y is the story of Nathan, an autistic teenager with a fierce love of mathematics, played by an all-grown-up Asa Butterfield (The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and Hugo). His mother is Julie (Sally Hawkins, Vera Drake, Blue Jasmine), who has a fierce love for her son – a love that is tested by both her son’s autism and by the death of her husband. Nathan’s maths teacher is Mr Humphreys (Rafe Spall, The Life of Pi), who doesn’t have a fierce love for anything much – except perhaps a love of being bitter towards the world and life in general because of his multiple sclerosis. Nathan is angry because he lost his dad in a car accident, and he doesn’t understand why this happened. Julie is angry because she can’t connect with Nathan in the same way that his dad could, and she doesn’t understand why this has happened. Mr Humphreys is angry because his life hasn’t turned out the way he dreamed, and he doesn’t understand why this has happened.
It all comes to a head at the International Mathematics Olympiad at the University of Cambridge, where Nathan is part of the British team – he finds himself falling in love with a girl on the Chinese contingent, and the whole thoroughly heart-warming experience brings him and his family closer together. Through the power of mathematics, as a result of the simple equation of x + y, we see that love is more powerful than grief and confusion and anger and pain.
This story is one that director Morgan Matthews is very familiar with. This film is his first movie – up until now, he’s made documentaries, and some particularly good ones at that. Scenes from a Teenage Killing (2011) and The Fallen (2008) are both equal parts harrowing and uplifting and both were rightfully nominated for BAFTAs (with The Fallen winning two). Matthews was inspired to make X + Y in 2007 when making the documentary Beautiful Young Minds, which follows some young British people training for and competing in the International Mathematics Olympiad. In the documentary, several of the British team have some sort of autism spectrum disorder. One of them, Daniel, goes on to fall in love with a girl on the Chinese team, and the whole experience brings him and his family closer together. I spent much of the time watching X+Y thinking that I had seen all of this before somewhere. Even though X+Y is nothing more than a dramatic re-telling of his 2007 documentary, this is still one of Matthews’ finest works. It is rich in pathos, and is brimful with fine performances – Butterfield shines, and his portrayal of an autistic person is one of the best I’ve seen on screen. X+Y is a marvelous piece of cinema – indeed, this film about love is, quite frankly, absolutely lovely.
4 stars/5
Michael Tarry
17th February 2015
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