The film is about a young boy named Nathan (Asa Butterfield) with Asperger's Syndrome who is especially good at maths, though not so good at human relationships.
He lives with his mother (Sally Hawkins) after his father (Martin McCann) died in a car accident when Nathan was young.
With the support of his maths tutor (Rafe Spall) who suffers from multiple sclerosis but lives in denial of the debilitating effects of his condition, Nathan enters the British team in the International Mathematics Olympiad.
It is here he meets a young girl from the Chinese team (Jo Yang) and the two become friends.
That's all I'll say for fear of spoilers, but I will add that the performances by the entire cast are immaculate. Particular mention ought to go to Butterfield, who as a neurotypical delivers one of the best performances of an Aspie teenager I have seen.
Both the screenwriter (James Graham) and the director (Morgan Matthews) handle the subject matter with the utmost sensitivity.
My immense enjoyment of the film was somewhat spoiled by the reactions of my fellow audience members, most of whom laughed at things that were not the least bit funny or amusing. However, my review of the film itself does not depend on such a factor.
A true masterpiece.
10 out of 10.
Note: Some theatres played this film under the title 'A Brilliant Young Mind'.
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