Film Review: X+Y (2015)

“If beauty is truth and truth is beauty, well then surely mathematics must be the most beautiful thing of all”

After being diagnosed with a form of autism crossed with mild synethsesia at a young age, Nathan (the delightfully named Asa Butterfield, known for his titular role in Scorsese’s Hugo) has always had trouble interacting with people, especially his widowed mother (Sally Hawkins). We are introduced to him in high-school, an outcast with a crippling social phobia but with one distinct advantage: a talent for mathematics that puts him at the level of prodigy. These talents, which are cultivated by Nathan’s maths teacher (Rafe Spall), soon earn him a place in the International Maths Olympiad (IMO) and a trip to Taiwan to compete for a place on team UK and a chance to prove his exceptional talent with numbers. Once there, Nathan is partnered up with a young girl from Beijing (Jo Yang) and soon after encounters something that his genius level intellect simply can’t comprehend: Love.

X+Y is the first feature film by Morgan Matthews, whose career previously has been exclusive to documentaries, one of which (Beautiful Young Minds) was the inspiration and guideline for James Graham’s decent script, which has some very respectable things to say about people living with a disability. Films that portray people with aspersers usually have them acting in the ilk of Sheldon Cooper; soulless automatons devoid of any thoughts that us squishy meat creatures refer to as ‘feelings’. Fortunately X+Y bypasses this and makes a lead character with depth and nuance, which is brought to life by the very good leading performance of Butterfield, who performs the whole film through a blank, almost confused expression, and perfectly embodies the aura of someone who can’t understand other people. 

Aside from Butterfield, the true standout here is the supporting work of Sally Hawkins and Rafe Spall. Hawkins proves once again what a fine actress she is, showing an almost saint-like patience in raising a son like Nathan, who is at best difficult to connect with, and at worse an almost impossible burden to those around him. Like in the scenes of Hawkins’ character carefully organizing Nathan’s food for him, making sure that the amount of prawn balls in their Friday night take away is a prime number, rather than having to endure the panic stricken meltdown that would otherwise follow. Spall’s humorous, sad but above all likable performance as Nathan’s maths teacher is the highlight of the film.

Like a lot of other really good British dramas, X+Y avoids the saccharine sweet pitfalls that you’d expect with a story like this – A film about a boy with mental health issues overcoming his crippling shyness to compete in an international maths competition, get your award nominations ready and get set for swelling music and the final heartfelt, all boxes ticked, happy ending. But X+Y doesn’t go down this route, there is joy and a happy ending here, but the third act doesn’t go down the path you’d expect, and the moments of feel-good triumph appear alongside some fairly dark side stories, and it’s the dark elements that make the uplifting moments all the better. Matthews has delivered a story you’ve seen before, but it comes together beautifully, showcasing the best elements of British cinema a; mix of drama and humour, tragedy and triumph that all combines together to form a well-structured whole.

X+Y is in Australian cinemas from 9 April through Pinnacle Films.