Infinity (1996 film)

Infinity is a 1996 American biographical drama film about the romantic life of physicist Richard Feynman. Feynman was played by Matthew Broderick, who also directed and co-produced the film. Broderick's mother, Patricia Broderick, wrote the screenplay, which was based on the books Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, both written by Feynman and Ralph Leighton.[3][4] It is the only film Broderick has ever directed.

Infinity
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatthew Broderick
Screenplay byPatricia Broderick
Based onSurely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think??
by Richard Feynman & Ralph Leighton
Produced by
  • Matthew Broderick
  • Patricia Broderick
  • Michael Leahy
  • Joel Soisson
Starring
CinematographyToyomichi Kurita
Edited byBill Johnson
Music byBruce Broughton
Distributed byFirst Look Pictures
Release date
  • October 4, 1996 (1996-10-04)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$195,170[2]

Plot

The film follows the 1988 book What Do You Care What Other People Think? fairly closely in terms of the stories told.

The film starts in 1924 with Richard and his father Melville walking through the woods where Melville shows his scientific inspiration for Richard. In 1934, Richard and Arline are in high school and their romantic relationship starts. The story then jumps to his college years and Arline getting sick with lymphatic tuberculosis. It continues to his move west to Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where Arline follows him later to a hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she dies. The film ends with Feynman crying at the sight of the red dress Arline had pointed out.

Cast

Production

In 1994, Broderick said of the project, "The obvious way to structure a film about Feynman would be to open with the Challenger disaster: The crazy old genius comes along and figures everything out, then he drifts into a reverie along the lines of 'A long time ago I met a girl.. . .' We didn't do that, because we want this to be an intimate movie and thought focusing on one period of his life that includes the invention of the bomb and the death of his first wife was enough."[1]

Broderick later said in 1997, "It was a difficult job and took four years from start to finish."[5]

Reception

The film has a 62% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[6] Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars.[7] Leonard Maltin awarded it two and a half stars.[8]

Emanuel Levy of Variety gave the film a negative review and described the film as "a flawed movie that suffers from a weak performance by Patricia Arquette."[9] On the other hand, John Krewson of The A.V. Club gave it a positive review and wrote that "saps, scientific or otherwise, will enjoy it."[10]

See also

References
  1. McKenna, Kristine (27 November 1994). "Mr. Feynman's Day Off : The late Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman had a passion for the bongos, mischief and physics. Now the first marriage of the genius turned folk hero has become an unlikely love story from star-director Matthew Broderick. (page 2 of 3)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  2. "Infinity (1996)". Box Office Mojo. 1996-10-22. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  3. Howe, Desson (4 October 1996). "INFINITY' ADDS UP". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  4. Holden, Stephen (4 October 1996). "A Man, a Woman and an Atomic Bomb". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  5. Nichols, Peter M. (20 January 1997). "SENSITIVE LOVE STORY 'INFINITY' IS NOW AVAILABLE ON VIDEO". Deseret News. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  6. "Infinity". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  7. Ebert, Roger (4 October 1996). "Infinity". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 10 February 2019 – via RogerEbert.com.
  8. Maltin, Leonard; Sader, Luke; Clark, Mike (2008). Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide. Penguin. p. 671. ISBN 9780452289789. matthew broderick richard feynman.page 671
  9. Levy, Emanuel (15 September 1996). "Infinity". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  10. Krewson, John (29 March 2002). "Infinity". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
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