The Oxford Murders

The Oxford Murders is a 2008 drama film directed by Álex de la Iglesia. This thriller film is adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Argentine mathematician and writer Guillermo Martínez. The film stars Elijah Wood, John Hurt, Leonor Watling and Julie Cox. Plot In 1993, Martin (Elijah Wood), a US student at the University of Oxford, wants Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) as his thesis supervisor. He idolises Seldom and has learned all about him. He takes accommodation in Oxford at the house of Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey), an old friend of Seldom. Also in the house is her daughter, Beth (Julie Cox), who is her full-time caregiver – which she resents bitterly – and a musician by occupation. In a public lecture, Seldom quotes Wittgenstein's Tractatus to deny the possibility of absolute truth. Hoping to impress his idol, Martin disputes this, asserting his faith in the absolute truth of mathematics: "I believe in the number pi". Seldom humiliates him, ridiculing his arguments and making him look foolish in front of the audience. Disillusioned, Martin decides to abandon his studies and goes to his office to collect his belongings. There, he encounters his office-mate, a bitter mathematician Podorov (Burn Gorman), who also failed to become a student of Seldom's.