The Oxford Murders DVD Movie Review
The Oxford Murders DVD Movie Review
The Oxford Murders review, directed by Alex de la Iglesia. Starring Elijah Wood, John Hurt, and Leonor Watling. Based on the novel by Guillermo Martinez. Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson.
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While the death scenes are 'Agatha Christie lite' in The Oxford Murders, there's a certain edge to them courtesy of director Alex de la Iglesia (I attribute the fact that he's wearing a Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors tee-shirt in the behind the scenes footage to that!). I think horror fans may actually enjoy this staid thriller, as long as they're also into classic mysteries.
Following the popular novel practically to the letter, readers won't be surprised by the turn of events, but it's still entertaining to watch them play out — especially if excellent cinematography is appreciated. There've been some exceptional DPs coming out of South American crews lately (Kiko de la Rica here, Félix Monti from The Secret in Their Eyes, Óscar Faura from The Orphanage, and so on) and The Oxford Murders looks gorgeous (there's a really cool continuous shot in particular, which is worthy of an Altman flick). That's good compensation for the films sometimes ponderous pace… It's kind of like Good Will Hunting meets a PG-13 Se7en.
The Oxford Murders probably isn't all too hard to figure out, even if you have read the book. But here's the set up: Elijah Wood plays American student Martin, who moves to England in hopes of snagging his idol Dr. Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), a mega-mind in the mode of mysterious mathematics (just try and figure out the "logic series", which is thankfully a little dumbed-down here from what was in the book). But he's spurned. Martin meets up with another disgruntled would-be student Podorov (Burn Gorman), but undaunted he decides to stay and give it another try.
The ex-pat winds up renting a room in Oxford at the house of a lifelong friend of Seldom's, Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey). The dowager's daughter, Beth (Julie Cox), her full time caregiver, quickly develops a crush on Martin… one that borders on obsession. Meanwhile, Martin takes up with a lusty nurse (Leonor Watling) who, it turns out, was once also Seldom's lover. With all these connections, odds are the two mathematical men will meet again. And they do — over the dead body of Mrs. Eagleton. Who done it?
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
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