The Oxford Murders DVD

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Intriguing murder mystery
Disadvantages:	Not what it seems, not sure if thats good or bad

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When newcomer in Oxford Martin (Elijah Wood) travels from Arizona to study and work with the legendary Professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) he finds himself on the rough end of disappointment. It seems Seldom's ex personal assistant has been making promises to students that simply could not be delivered. Imagine the disappointment of travelling over half the world to study for your mentor not to be interested? Having discovered an opportunity to make an impression on Seldom and make himself seen Martin crashes a seminar of Seldom, and when he attempts to make an intelligent point is humiliated publically by Seldom. Deciding that Seldom is not who he thought he might be, Martin decides to abandon the UK and return home, that's when another unexpected encounter with seldom leads to the discovery of a dead woman. Together Martin and Seldom must solve the mystery of a serial killer, but can Martin's love of Seldom be matched by Seldom's disgust for Martin?

The Oxford Murders is one of those films that seems too intelligent to be enjoyed, after 20 minutes the majority of what I was hearing was flying right over my head, talk of Greek geniuses and equations that shape the way we live our lives is way beyond my intelligence level and to be perfectly honest I never ever thought I would last the course of the film. Cleverly though those like myself on a lower mental plane can enjoy the movie as much as those infinitely more intelligent, you see while all these clever words are bouncing around their purpose is actually not that important, what you need to do is join the dots, count the bodies and keep an eye on the characters and the relationships that they have with one another.

Intelligence test out of the way and I was allowed to begin to enjoy the movie, loving the way director Alex de la Iglesia a Spanish director sees not just Oxford but the UK in general. The biggest intrigue for myself was that it was virtually impossible to tell when the movie was set, it could be the present day and it could be the mid 1980's. While fashions were similar if not the same to our present day ones, other things like mobile phones were surprisingly last century, big bulky and with really bad "Ring Ring" ringtones. While in the UK we are behind on many things, when it comes to mobile phones we are one of the most advanced in the world leaving our US and Australian cousin's years behind in technology. Secondly despite the constant references to television via news articles, nobody has a television. And to top this off every pub has board games, and the security in the airports is incredibly lax. I guess this is part of the movies charm, that level of uncertainty giving the movie an offbeat look and feel.

The best part of the movie lies in its conclusion, which I cannot really discuss for fear of ruining the story for you, all I'll say is that what you think your getting is far from the case, and the dramatic difference and ultimate conclusion comes as quite a shock, you could say an anti-climax too if it were not for the very clever delivery.

Having already landed on UK shores and leading in the movie Green Street I was a little uncertain what to make of Elijah Wood in the leading role, personally I cannot see what would attract this Catweazle lookalike to women, but within 30 minutes he has wooed his way into the hearts of the movies two female leads Leonor Wating as Lorna, and Julie Cox as Beth. We are also subjected to a sex scene involving Wood, Wating, and some Spaghetti this was almost enough for me bring up my dinner; Wood may be an so so actor but he is not someone you want to see having simulated sex, least alone with Spaghetti. Beyond the sex Wood is okay and for the lengthy monologues he has to deliver worth his money, these are some horrific mouthful's; the most lengthy of all sees him towards the movies conclusion putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, so that all those bits you don't get all suddenly make sense.

John Hurt shouts in an intelligent way through most of the movie, but you're never quite sure about his character. Cult movie director and 80's TV show presenter of the cult movie show Moviedrome Alex Cox appears in a strange role as a genius who took his research a little too far. Andwhile Anna Massey plays a dithering old biddy and first murder victim incredibly well, Julie Cox as her granddaughter is nauseating and a most disturbing looking second female lead providing as much wood as is needed to add up to the movies leading stars surname. For fans of Torchwood Burn Gorman appears as a Russian student and fellow victim of Seldom's miserable nature.

What really works about the movie is that the actors are meaningless, love them, hate them; the story is driven by plot and the intricate weaving of detail. There are lots of red herrings, lots of comedic elements, it's like an old Agatha Christie story with a hint of Inspector Morse to bring it to modern times with Wood and Hurt as our Morse and Lewis, or maybe Poirot and Marple I'll leave it to you which of out two male leads is Miss Marple.

Based on the bestselling award winning novel by Guillermo Martinez, The Oxford Murders is like a classic Sunday night TV whodunit with a great big budget.

The Oxford Murders is available on DVD from September 1st, accompanying features include a novel to movie comparison, trailer, and a behind the scenes feature. RRP is £15.99 though you can pre-order now from play.com for £10.99.

Spencer Hawken 06/08