Pretty Good

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Although I agree with other reviewers that the reaction of the Feynman character to his wife's death is so restrained as to appear cold, that is but a minor flaw in a striking film featuring a fantastic performance by Patricia Arquette.I have seen many tearjerkers in my life, but this is one of the few that actually makes me choke up when I remember certain scenes.The characters' integrity, the tragic backdrop of the Manhattan Project, the revealing details, the respectful rendering of quaint aspects of the era, the simple truths simply portrayed all make this a small masterpiece.

Richard Feynman was famed for his playful, iconoclastic views and discoveries in the realm of theoretical physics; he won a Nobel Prize for his later work. But in the mid-1940's, he was a brilliant 25-year old kid working on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and his beloved wife was dying of Hodgkins disease. The story of Arline and Richard Feynman might seem tepid or boring to non-Feymanauts, but anyone who has read "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" and especially "What do you care what other people think?" will love it. Broderick does a good job capturing Feynman's early persona -- brilliant, able to argue a physics problem with Robert Oppenheimer, but at heart still an awkward, shy young man madly in love with his doomed wife. Sweet, sad, and memorable.

I read the book, "What Do You Care What Other People Think" and did some research. From there I learned to respect the man. "Infinity" is a wonderful movie. It shows a real love story between two people. Feynman's desire to marry Arlene, even though she was ill, shows dedication to principles that are wanting in our society. This wasn't an easy thing.Then there is the personal story of his work on the Manhattan Project. He was a practical physicist, who brought the science down to "our" level. Who can forget his demonstration of the "O-Ring" failure from the Shuttle Challenger. This approach changed my perception of the science and I learned to love physics.So, yes, I recommend this movie.Laura

A caution: this review reveals details of the movie.The movie "Infinity", stars Matthew Broderick who portrays the Nobel-prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Broderick also co-produced and directed the movie. Keeping it in the family, the screenplay was written by Matthew's mother, Patricia Broderick. The other major role, that of Feynman's first wife Arline Greenbaum, was played by Patricia Arquette.Infinity is not a documentary about a phase in the life of Feynman the scientist, my expectation. My first impression as the movie unfolded was disappointment. I have been intrigued by Feynman the physicist and scientist since I purchased his Quantum Mechanics lectures trilogy in 1968. As the movie progressed, I saw that it isn't a movie about science; it is a movie about the heart. The point of this movie is to portray Feynman the person, and his relationship to the love of his life, Arline Greenbaum; in this it succeeds wonderfully.A few years back, while reading one of Feynman's books, I ran across a passage which made a big impression. Feynman wrote that his children, who were raised in private schools and visited home only during holidays, were known well enough to him that if he were to meet one on the street, he would probably recognize that person as his child. That statement helped convince me to move from academia to the business world, making becoming a better father and husband my top priority. After seeing this movie, I better understand Feynman the person. The tragic loss of his first wife probably produced a life-long desire to hold personal relationships at a distance, and to make research and teaching his top priorities.Broderick does an impressive job of directing the film. Just one example: at the moment of the death of his wife, my expectation was for there to be intrusive weepy violins. Instead, the moment moved through silence, making a more powerful statement. That scene reminded me of George Burns pulling down his shoe box of old photos from the top shelf of his closet, and looking at them quietly in "Going in Style", a scene which packed an emotional punch without resorting to violins.There is another dimension to the two Brodericks' intelligence which surprised me: they did not botch the physics, what little there was. Nearly every Hollywood movie which has an opportunity to do so, gets the science wrong... having space ships produce impressive sounds as they move through the vacuum of space, for example. Matthew Braderick as Feynman explains beta decay to his wife using olives from his lunch in an approach worthy of the real Feynman. Also, Feyman's father explanation of inertia, in which he differentiated between being able to name it and describe it, which he could do, and understanding the "why" of it, which no one could do, was a "deep" understanding of science which Broderick portrayed with sympathy and understanding. By staying away from complex mathematics and the physics that could have been incorporated into this story, to the delight of the geeks of the world, Broderick created a movie that is accessible to all."Infinity" is a gem of a small movie, a love story, a true story, told with gentleness and feeling; a movie which does not overreach itself. I strongly recommend it.