The Man Who Knew Infinity

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, The Man Who Knew Infinity is available in Australia on Foxtel Now, and in the US on Philo and AMC Plus Apple TV Channel right now. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. 1,585 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Dev Patel sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Foxtel Now.

There is a reason The Man Who Knew Infinity keeps coming up in conversation. The Man Who Knew Infinity trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. Growing up poor in Madras, India, Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar earns admittance to Cambridge University during WWI, where he becomes a pioneer in mathematical theories with the guidance of his professor, G.H. Hardy. Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2016. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Drama fans who appreciate slow-burn storytelling will feel right at home with The Man Who Knew Infinity. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Dev Patel is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.