Mel Gibson

Sean Penn

Eddie Marsan

Natalie Dormer

Ioan Gruffudd

Steve Coogan

Jeremy Irvine

Brendan Patricks

Adam Fergus

Jennifer Ehle

Brian Fortune

Aidan McArdle

David Crowley

Kieran O'Reilly

Bryan Murray

Oengus MacNamara

Christopher Maleki

Sean Duggan

Bryan Quinn

Steve Gunn

Malcolm Freeman

Joe McKinney

Olivia McKevitt

Shane Noone

Robert McCormack

Ronan O'Connor

John Morton

Abigail Coburn

Paul Gough

Lucas Browne

Stephen Dillane

David O'Hara

Laurence Fox

Lars Brygmann

Anthony Andrews

Dino Jonsäter

Farhad Safinia

Dan Hubbard

Gastón Pavlovich

Todd Komarnicki

Bruce Davey

Tom Conroy

John Boorman

Kasper Tuxen

Bear McCreary

Simon Winchester

Giedrius Nagys

Paul Carroll

Martin White

Darron Costello

David Flynn

Gary Robinson

Martin Kenny

Andrew Eadie

Norman Kelly

Stephen Ryan

Brendan Condren

David Byrne

Lemuel Black

Phil Lonergan

Michael Hanna

Paul Thompson

Eimear O'Grady

Donal O'Shea

History

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

The Professor and the Madman

Fastnet Films

22h22

Caviar Antwerp NV

Definition Films

Zik Zak Filmworks

Voltage Pictures

Fábrica de Cine

France

Ireland

Mexico

United States of America

English

based on novel or book

professor

lunatic asylum

biography

mental patient

dictionary

19th century

SWITCH.

In all likelihood, you will leave this film with a little more of an understanding of how the dictionary came to be, and a little more resentment for Gibson (one of the producers) for pushing this project to happen, regardless of its lacklustre subject. It's pleasant enough, but it's clear England must produce a certain number of period dramas a year and 2019 was just about to fall under the quota - thank god for the dictionary movie. 

Usually with book-to-film adaptations, there is a spike in sales of said book - I can't imagine anyone rushing out to buy a dictionary after this though.
- Brent Davidson

Read Brent's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-professor-and-the-madman-mel-gibsons-dictionary-origin-story-a-dry-read

I really like it. It had a story within a true Story. Which in my opinion made it a little complex and exciting. Good for young adults and up. Teenagers might not find it so compelling but that's just a short time in their life when they're looking for total entertainment and action. This is not that film but there is a great story to be told with a interesting backdrop of facts. Mel Gibson is excellent!! Be ready to be surprised with a few turns and twists. I really like this movie. I think it was very entertaining and interesting and at times exciting. Get your popcorn ready kick back and enjoy a movie that every other word is not the f word or the GD word. I really enjoyed it and as usual, Mel Gibson always deliver.

CinemaSerf

This is the best effort I've seen from Sean Penn since "Milk" almost twelve years ago. His portrayal of the schizophrenic William Chester Minor who, having spent almost 40 years of his life in Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, became one of the single most significant contributors to the orginal Oxford Dictionary of English is superb. He captures the flaws of this paranoid etymologist warts and all, and gels very well with Mel Gibson who, as the compiler of the tome - Dr. James Murray - also turns in a good, strong and, latterly, sympathetic and understanding performance too. This is essentially a double-hander with Natalie Dormer, Eddie Marsan and Steve Coogan helping to explain the story and releasing some of the emotional steam from time to time. It's a little slow in places, two hours could have done justice to this interesting story which seems overly padded at time. As you'd expect; it looks great with plenty of serious attention to detail and it also shines a little light on Victorian/Edwardian attitudes to mental illness.

The Professor and the Madman | Official Trailer (HD) | Vertical Entertainment

The Professor And The Madman Official Trailer

The Professor and the Madman( 2019)

The incredible true story that defined our world.

Overview

Top Billed Cast

Social

A review by SWITCH.

Written by SWITCH. on Sun Nov 24 2019

Media

Recommendations

Facts

Status

Original Language

Budget

Revenue

Keywords