List Of Films About Mathematicians
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This is a list of feature films and documentaries that include
mathematicians A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History One ...
, scientists who use math or references to mathematicians.


About mathematics

Films where mathematics is central to the plot: * '' 21'' (2008) – A group of current and former
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
students, mostly mathematicians, and an algebra professor devise a
card counting Card counting is a blackjack betting strategy, strategy used to determine whether the player or the dealer has an advantage on the next hand. Card counters try to overcome the casino house edge by keeping a running count of high and low valued c ...
scheme for success at
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...
blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...
tables. * '' The Bank'' (2001) – A mathematician discovers a formula to predict fluctuations in the
stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...
. * ''
Cube A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...
'' (1997) – Six people, including Leaven, a math student, awake in a deathtrap based on mathematical principles. * '' Fermat's Room'' (2007) – Three mathematicians and one inventor are invited to a house under the premise of solving a great enigma and told to use pseudonyms based on famous historical mathematicians. At the house, they are trapped in a room. They must solve puzzles given by the host, who calls himself "Fermat", in order to escape the slowly closing walls of the room. * ''
Gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average and is also known as high potential. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to pe ...
'' (2017) – Frank Adler ( Chris Evans) is a single man raising a
child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...
—his spirited young niece Mary (
Mckenna Grace Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress and singer. Born in Grapevine, Texas, she began acting professionally at age five and relocated to Los Angeles, California, as a child. Her earliest roles included Jasmine Bernstein in ...
)—in a coastal town in Florida after the death of her mother Diane, a mathematician. Mary's grandmother Evelyn ( Lindsay Duncan) and uncle have different ideas on how to raise her. Mary tells her grandmother she wants to solve the problem her mother was working on, the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem. * ''
Good Will Hunting ''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film tells the story of janitor Will Hunt ...
'' (1997) – Janitor and genius Will Hunting (
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
) begins to turn his life around with the help of psychologist (
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
) and a
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
-winning professor (
Stellan Skarsgård Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...
). * '' I.Q.'' (1994) –
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
(
Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...
) helps a young man (
Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...
) pretend to be a
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
in order to catch the attention of Einstein's niece (
Meg Ryan Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known by her stage name Meg Ryan, is an American actress. Known for her leading roles as quirky, charismatic women since the late 1980s, Ryan is particularly recognized for her work in ...
). * '' An Invisible Sign'' (2011) – Mona Gray (
Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...
) gives up everything important to her in life, except mathematics, as part of a "deal with the universe" to help restore her father (a mathematician) to health. Years later, Mona teaches the subject, and does her best to help her students contend with their own personal crises. * '' Marguerite's Theorem'' (2023) – Marguerite ( Ella Rumpf) is a brilliant doctoral student at the ENS. She has been working on the
Goldbach's conjecture Goldbach's conjecture is one of the oldest and best-known list of unsolved problems in mathematics, unsolved problems in number theory and all of mathematics. It states that every even and odd numbers, even natural number greater than 2 is the ...
for her thesis and leading a secluded life. However, an error is discovered in her thesis that completely destroys her work. Devastated, she leaves the academia and tries to live with people in the outside world. * '' Moebius'' (1996) – Topologists including a young girl make contributions to the subway system and other facets of reality in Argentina in this math film with a science fiction and surreal feel. * ''
Moneyball Moneyball or money ball may refer to: * '' Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'', 2003 book by Michael Lewis ** ''Moneyball'' (film), 2011 film adaptation of the book * ''Moneyball'' (album), 2025 album by Dutch Interior * Sabermetrics ...
'' (2011) – Oakland Athletics baseball team's general manager Billy Beane attempts to assemble a competitive team using statistics. * '' The Oxford Murders'' (2008) – A Student (
Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...
) finds out about mysterious killings in Oxford and helped by a professor (
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...
), they reveal the math patterns used by the killer. * '' Pi'' (1998) – A mathematician searches for the number that underlies all of nature. * ''
Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...
'' (2005) – A former student (
Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...
) of a recently deceased, brilliant mathematician (
Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
) finds a notebook in his office containing a proof of an important theorem, but the mathematician's daughter (
Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...
) claims it is hers. The ensuing dispute is complicated by signs that she may have inherited her father's mental illness and a burgeoning romance. The movie is based on the 2001 play by David Auburn. * '' Raising Genius'' (2004) – The film is about a boy (
Justin Long Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his film roles, particularly in comedy and horror films, notably appearing in ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Jeepers Creepers (2001 film), Jeepers Creepers'' ( ...
) who locks himself in the bathroom to work out math equations on the shower wall. * ''
Sneakers Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...
'' (1992) – An eclectic team is blackmailed into stealing a mathematician's code-breaking box. * '' Travelling Salesman'' (2012) – The US government hires four mathematicians to solve the most powerful problem ever to plague computer science ( P vs NP problem). * ''
X+Y XY, or xy, or any of its variants may refer to: Entertainment * ''Pokémon X and Y, Pokémon X'' and ''Y'', a pair of 2013 role-playing video games in the Pokémon video game series, ''Pokémon'' series * XY (magazine), ''XY'' (magazine), a gay ...
'' (2014) – A teenage mathematical prodigy has difficulty understanding people, but finds comfort in numbers.


Mathematician biographical films

Biographical films based on real-life mathematicians: * ''
Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...
'' (2009) – The life of the mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher
Hypatia Hypatia (born 350–370 – March 415 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt (Roman province), Egypt: at that time a major city of the Eastern Roman Empire. In Alexandria, Hypatia was ...
(
Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970) is an English actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, several awards, including an Academy Award, ...
), directed by
Alejandro Amenábar Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born 31 March 1972) is a Chilean-Spanish film director, screenwriter and composer. He has won nine Goya Awards—including Best Director for his 2001 film '' The Others''—and two European Film Awards amon ...
. * '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2001) – A fictional account based loosely on the life of mathematician John Nash (
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...
), who made a breakthrough that wins him the
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...
. * ''
Breaking the Code ''Breaking the Code'' is a 1986 British play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II and a pioneer of computer science. Th ...
'' (1996) – A biographical film based on the life of
Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer ...
adapted from the 1986 play of the same name. * ''
A Brief History of Time ''A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes'' is a book on cosmology by the physicist Stephen Hawking, first published in 1988. Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of ...
'' (1991) – A biographical documentary film about the physicist
Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
, directed by
Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of their subjects, and the invention of the Interrotron. In 2003, his '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Li ...
. * (1973) - A miniseries on the life of
René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...
, directed by
Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...
. * ''Counting from Infinity:
Yitang Zhang Yitang Zhang (; born February 5, 1955) is a Chinese-American mathematician primarily working on number theory and a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 2015. Previously working at the University of New ...
and the Twin Prime Conjecture'' (2015) – A documentary film by George Paul Csicsery about Yitang Zhang, a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire, working in complete isolation and making an important breakthrough towards solving the
twin prime conjecture A twin prime is a prime number that is either 2 less or 2 more than another prime number—for example, either member of the twin prime pair or In other words, a twin prime is a prime that has a prime gap of two. Sometimes the term ''twin prime'' ...
. * '' Enigma'' (2001) – A story of romantic and psychological intrigue set in
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...
during the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
effort to crack the German
Enigma machine The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the W ...
. * ''Girls who fell in love with Math'' (2017) – Career profiles of mathematicians Sun-Yung Alice Chang and Fan Chung. * ''
Hidden Figures ''Hidden Figures'' is a 2016 American Biographical film, biographical Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction Hidden Figures (boo ...
'' (2016) – African-American mathematicians
Katherine Johnson Creola Katherine Johnson (; August 26, 1918February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.* During h ...
, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are featured in this film about the early years of the NASA
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
and
racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...
and sexual segregation. * '' A Hill on the Dark Side of the Moon'' (1983) – A drama film about the professor of mathematics, Sofya Kovalevskaya. * ''
The Imitation Game ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 American biographical film, biographical thriller film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore (writer), Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography ''Alan Turing: The Enigma'' by Andrew Hodges. The ...
'' (2014) – British mathematician
Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer ...
(
Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...
), a pioneer in digital computing and artificial intelligence, is tasked with cracking Nazi Germany's Enigma code that would help the Allies win World War II. A new adaptation of the play ''Breaking the Code''. * ''
Infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...
'' (1996) – A story about
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
-winning physicist
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...
(
Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...
). * '' The Man Who Knew Infinity'' (2015) – The true story of Indian mathematical genius,
Srinivasa Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar (22 December 188726 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician. Often regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial con ...
(
Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is an English actor and filmmaker. List of awards and nominations received by Dev Patel, His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe A ...
), who develops numerous properties of infinite series as a clerk in India before writing to Cambridge mathematicians who invite him to UK. Directed by Matthew Brown * '' N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdős'' (1993) – A documentary directed by George Csicsery about the life of Hungarian mathematician
Paul Erdős Paul Erdős ( ; 26March 191320September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. pursued and proposed problems in discrete mathematics, g ...
. * '' Ramanujan'' (2014) – A biographical film by
Gnana Rajasekaran Gnana Rajasekaran (born 23 January 1953) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright and Retired IAS Officer. His directional debut was '' Mogamul'' (1994) won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. His other works ...
based on the life of
Srinivasa Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar (22 December 188726 April 1920) was an Indian mathematician. Often regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial con ...
. * ''Secrets of the Surface The Mathematical Vision of
Maryam Mirzakhani Maryam Mirzakhani (, ; 12 May 1977 – 14 July 2017) was an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Her research topics included Teichmüller space, Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic the ...
'' (2020) – A documentary film by George Csicsery about the Fields medalist and Iranian national hero. * ''
Sofia Kovalevskaya Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (; born Korvin-Krukovskaya; – 10 February 1891) was a Russian mathematician who made noteworthy contributions to analysis, partial differential equations and mechanics. She was a pioneer for women in mathematics a ...
'' (1985) – Epic film in four episodes, based on a true story of mathematician Sofya Kovalevskaya. * '' The Theory of Everything'' (2014) – The story of the life and hardships faced by theoretical physicist and mathematician
Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
. * ''
Super 30 Super 30 is an Indian educational programme started in Patna, India under the banner of Ramanujan School of Mathematics. It was founded by Anand Kumar, a mathematics teacher. The programme selects 30 talented candidates each year from economic ...
'' (2019) – A film about the life of mathematician and teacher Anand Kumar and its educational program named
Super 30 Super 30 is an Indian educational programme started in Patna, India under the banner of Ramanujan School of Mathematics. It was founded by Anand Kumar, a mathematics teacher. The programme selects 30 talented candidates each year from economic ...
.


With mathematician characters

Films where one or more of the main characters are mathematicians, but that are not otherwise about mathematics: * '' It's My Turn'' (1980) – A mathematics professor (
Jill Clayburgh Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actr ...
) falls in love with her father's bride's son (
Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...
). * ''
The Mirror Has Two Faces ''The Mirror Has Two Faces'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Barbra Streisand, who also stars. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is loosely based on the 1958 French film ''Le Miroir à deux faces'' wri ...
'' (1996) – A math professor (
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...
) marries a literature professor (
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
), but they want different things from the relationship. * '' Stand and Deliver'' (1988) – Based on the true story of math teacher Jaime Escalante, who inspired the students at a school in a troubled Hispanic neighborhood to take
Advanced Placement Calculus Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus (also known as AP Calc, Calc AB / BC, AB / BC Calc or simply AB / BC) is a set of two distinct Advanced Placement calculus courses and exams offered by the American nonprofit organization College Board. AP Calculu ...
. The method of tabular integration is featured in the film. * '' Straw Dogs'' (1971) – David Sumner (
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...
) is an American mathematical physicist who moves to England, where he and his wife are violently harassed by locals. * ''
A Summer's Tale ''A Summer's Tale'' () is a 1996 French Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in his ''Contes des quatre saisons'' (''Tales of the Four Seasons'') series, which also includes ''A Tale o ...
'' (1996) – A young mathematician vacationing in
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
. * ''
Tall Story ''Tall Story'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy film made by Warner Bros., directed by Joshua Logan, and starring Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda in her film debut. It is based on the 1957 novel ''The Homecoming Game'' by Howard Nemerov, wh ...
'' (1960) – A college physics and mathematics whiz is also the star basketball player, partly because he has devised equations for making baskets. *''
A Serious Man ''A Serious Man'' is a 2009 black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesotan Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and personally, ...
'' (2009) *''
Incendies ''Incendies'' (; ) is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's play of the same name, ''Incendies'' stars Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Dés ...
'' (2010) - A graduate student ( Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin), who teaches pure mathematics in Montreal,https://www.npr.org/2011/04/22/135541389/a-heartbreaking-work-of-staggering-horror travels to the Middle East in search of her father she thought dead.


Featuring mathematicians

Films where one or more of the members of the main cast is a mathematician: * ''
21 Grams ''21 Grams'' is a 2003 American crime thriller film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It is the second installment in the duo’s informal “Trilogy of Death,” preceded by ''Amores perros'' (2000) ...
'' (2003) – An accident changes many lives, including that of a critically ill mathematics professor (
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...
). * ''
Antonia's Line ''Antonia's Line'' (Original title: ''Antonia'') is a 1995 Dutch feminist film written and directed by Marleen Gorris. The film, described as a "feminist fairy tale", tells the story of the independent Antonia ( Willeke van Ammelrooy) who, afte ...
'' (1995) – A genealogical "line" of five generations of women includes a child prodigy, Thérèse, who grows up to be a mathematician. * ''
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
'' (1993) – A mathematician studying
chaos theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of Scientific method, scientific study and branch of mathematics. It focuses on underlying patterns and Deterministic system, deterministic Scientific law, laws of dynamical systems that are highly sens ...
(
Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum ( ; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. Goldblum ...
) is among those invited to a
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
with cloned
dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
, in order to assess its safety. * '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (1997) – Mathematician Ian Malcolm (
Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum ( ; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. Goldblum ...
) travels to an auxiliary Jurassic Park site to document dinosaurs.


See also

* List of fictional child prodigies


References


External links


Mathematical Fiction: films
by Alex Kasman (
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...
)
The Mathematical Movie Database
by Burkard Polster and Marty Ross
Mathematics in Movies
by Oliver Knill (
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
)
My Math Movie Picks
by Brian Harbourne (
University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...
)
Math in the Movies
by Arnold G. Reinhold

by Keith Devlin (
Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...
)
Top 10 Math Movies
(infographic) {{Areas of mathematics
Mathematicians A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History One ...
Films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...