Starring: Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins, Jo Yang.
X + Y, also known as A Brilliant Young Mind, follows an autistic maths genius as he goes to compete in a math challenge.
It's great that an indie film has finally spoken about autism, especially the kind where the person is pretty independent and mature. It was an interesting and unique subject to discuss but te film itself wasn't very captivating.
I found the script to be quite dull and boring. There was no real drama, except briefly at the start of the film (I'm trying not to include spoilers), no real comedy and not enough substance to pull you in. It was a very slow film with even slower character types. Not to say this wasn't a good film because it did discuss an important topic and quite honestly which is probably why it has such high ratings. It seems like the kind of story that better belongs in a book though.
A definite strong point was the acting. Whilst the characters weren't massively likeable, this was probably only because they put on a very real and human performance. They weren't necessarily trying to get you to sympathise with them, we were merely meant to be fly's on the wall watching in on their lives.
The cinematography did also stand out. It had an almost Lost In Translation or Blue Valentine visual aesthetic to it which made it quite appealing. I love how they incorporated the Chinese culture into the film and this also made for a very beautiful backdrop.
Overall, X + Y was a great film for substance but not really for watching. It's a hard film to get through but the subject does make it worthwhile.
