NORMAN — I was thinking about Elijah Wood the other day, wondering what had become of the heroic little hobbit while I scrolled through movies on cable’s In-Demand channel. Unlike most of his “Lord of the Rings” co-stars, I couldn’t recall seeing Wood in anything since 2003, when he finally threw the fabled ring into the Fires of Mordor. Had he made any movies since then?
Like cinematic kismet, my question was soon answered when “The Oxford Murders” (2008) popped up on the In-Demand list — starring not only Elijah Wood but the fabulous John Hurt, as well. It was too much of a coincidence to pass up.
Our story takes place at Oxford University in England, where we meet doctoral candidate Martin (Wood), an American student who dreams of working on his thesis with renowned philosophy professor Arthur Seldom (Hurt). Seldom is famous at Oxford for his controversial theories about the nature of truth: He believes that mathematics is the only thing in the universe that can be proven without a doubt. Numbers never lie, but people always do.
Martin would do anything to be close to Seldom; he’s even managed to rent a room at the home of Seldom’s sister-in-law Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey) and his cranky, bitter niece Beth (Julie Cox), in the hope that it will bring him closer to his idol.
But when Martin arrives at Oxford, he is crushed to learn that Seldom no longer teaches. The crusty old sage is focused on writing and selling books now and has no time for pesky students. Although Martin begs Seldom to be his mentor, the old man refuses to speak to him — until he and Martin discover Mrs. Eagleton’s dead body in her home.
The old woman, already suffering from terminal cancer, was murdered. A strange mathematical clue was left at the scene, along with a promise that it’s the first of several math-related murders to come.
Determined to find Mrs. Eagleton’s killer, Seldom takes the bait, with a more-than-willing Martin as his sidekick. As the murders and math clues pile up, Martin is thrilled that his dream of working with Seldom is back on track. Unfortunately, the results aren’t quite what he had hoped for.
Critics weren’t too kind to “The Oxford Murders,” citing a slow pace. While this cerebral murder mystery is a bit talky and not quite as zippy as the standard Hollywood murder tale, it’s still full of low-key tension and keeps you guessing about the murderer’s identity until the end.
Kiko de la Rica’s cinematography is superb, and Spanish director (and co-screenwriter) Alex de la Iglesia makes sure all that math talk is understandable to a non-math audience, while creating a creepy atmosphere throughout.
Although audiences haven’t seen much of Wood since “Rings,” they’ve been able to hear a lot of him; Wood has provided the voice for animated characters in “9,” “The Legend of Spyro” and “Beyond All Boundaries,” and is set to do more voice-over work in three upcoming movies.
Most of Wood’s time has been taken up with Simian Records, the label he started in 2005. So far, Wood has produced several albums for alternative bands, with plans to focus more on the music business than movies in the future. Here’s hoping he’ll find time to act again, as well. He’s only 29, with a long career still ahead of him.
You can see Wood in “The Oxford Murders” (rated R for language and a brief sex scene) on cable’s In-Demand (channel one). Check it out!
