X+Y by Morgan Matthews

Nathan (Asa Butterfield) is a kid with a gift. His mother discovers him a math prodigy early on, and through the tutelage of a down and out teacher, he lands a spot in the British team for the International Mathemathics Olympiad. This takes him on a trip to Taipei where despite his Aspergers Syndrome, he experiences an emotional rebirth that leads him to logically understand the nature of love. 

 

The juxtaposition of the concept of love with scientific subjects has been somewhat of a cinematic fixation since its very beginning, perhaps because of its very contrasting natures - one traditionally formulaic and logic, the other free and mostly illogical. Despite this, it is important that people do not allow Morgan Matthews' fiction feature debut to fall under conventional categorisation of such a thematic exploration, particularly within the highly formulaic and usually exploited concept of coming of age.

One of the biggest reasons to avoid this is the importance that the filmmaker gives to viewpoint, even within the love concept and the different relationships that the central characters in X+Y have with love - those who that don't understand it, those that long for it, those that are afraid of not being able to experience it. This means that even the leading boy's Asperger's syndrome is thankfully not exploited, but rather allows a more whole understanding of the sensibilities and human aspects of the story. 

 

On top of that, while the leading character of Nathan remains the pivotal character around whom the film's narrative revolves, and in some exciting stylised sequences we are allowed an even more direct insight on his mindset and thought processing, there is great depth added through the subplots of the people that surround him.

 

There is faithfulness, competence and knowledge mixed with a genuine and likeable sense of humour - all of which positively spanning out of Matthews' background as a documentarian and connection with the world being examined in his X+Y which he had previously examined in factual filmmaking form his previous doc Beautiful Young Minds (2007). 

 

This in turn allows the great cast to embody their roles and allows the performances to shine. Asa Butterfield as Nathan is particularly impressive in the quite difficult role of the teen, a role which also required a certain collected level of physicality as well as a tastefully restrained performance that would stay true to the complicated syndrome of his character. It is also because of him that the story is always believable.

 

X+Y by Morgan Matthews is out in UK cinemas now.