Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.
A fascinating true story about the unlikely collaboration between James Murray and Dr. William Minor in creating the OED. Gibson and Penn deliver strong, committed performances that elevate the material. The cinematography is competent period work but unremarkable. The story itself is genuinely unusual and compelling, though the film doesn't fully exploit its potential — the procedural dictionary elements and asylum drama feel somewhat uneven. The ending struggles to land emotionally, feeling abrupt and underdeveloped given the weight of the relationship built throughout.