This movie is about a child who is autistic but has a unique interest in maths. The ending of this movie takes a drastic change that we would have never thought of. I can say that Asa Butterfield did a great job acting as an autistic child but I don't think I can say the same for Rafe Spalls who is his teacher. The story also needed a bit more polishing I think. In all the movie is good and is definitely watchable.

X+Y is quite simply a beautiful film. First time director Morgan Matthews focuses on a child growing up with difficulties. Asa Butterfield's mathematics expert Nathan goes through troubles no kid should. His autism is touched upon often, but regardless of it, Nathan's story main stance is childhood issues. Being accepted is one, talking to girls is the other. What's so majestic about X+Y is how it encompasses the lives of those close to Nathan, especially his mother, Sally Hawkins, and mentor Rafe Spall, who suffers with multiple sclerosis. Both are superb, as is Asa Butterfield. It's a such a relief that X+Y follows its own path and not the outcome I expected of it.

This film twisted and turned my emotions in so many ways. It's so simple in it's execution yet extremely heavy in all the themes it presents. All the characters have their own hardships that they must try to overcome however difficult it may be for them and they're all searching for that one silver lining that can carry them through. The acting is incredible from everyone, no matter how much screen time they had, and they all left some sort of lasting effect on the film.I wasn't Asa Butterfield's biggest fan but he's completely changed my mind with this performance; he was perfect. Such minimal dialogue yet so much to say through his body language and expressions. He perfectly captured the behaviour and mindset of a socially inept individual in a world of his own who's still mourning the loss of his Dad, the one person in his life who understood how to communicate with him and make him feel less of an outsider than he always felt. Such a tender and moving turn and I loved his relationship with Zhang Mei (Jo Yang), who was also terrific and a ray of sunshine.Eddie Marsan continues to show his infinite versatility. I had no idea what sort of character he'd be playing but I knew he'd be fantastic as always. He brought the most laughs out of the film and reminded me of a few teachers I came across during my time living in England. Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins though.....just wow. I could write pages and pages of their performances but I'll just say that Hawkins work in Happy-Go-Lucky (which I consider one of the best of the decade gone by) finally has a worthy rival and Spall's obvious ability has been unlocked to full potential here. Hawkins is the true emotional anchor to this film; a mother/widow who's loneliness can be felt with great force as she deals with her Husband's death but also longs for the same sort of affection from Nathan that he had with his Dad. Having difficulty connecting to her son, she turns to his Math teacher, Martin Humphreys (Rafe Spall) hoping he would be that person who could plug that hole of vast emptiness. But Humphreys has his own issues, carrying a crippling disease known as Multiple sclerosis, and he can't live the life he wants to anymore because of it. Spall skillfully creates a multi-dimensional character, ranging from a cocky, jester and virile individual to one who, underneath it all, is petrified about the future that awaits him. Amongst this hugely talented cast however, one must give a special mention to young newcomer Jake Davies who steals every scene he's given. He's the sort of person that, if you met him in real life and didn't know what he was going through, would be easy to hate -- but he may have been the most troubled one of them all. The only existence that was keeping his head above the water was mathematics; it kept his brain from thinking about the things he didn't want to think about, the things that unhinged him. So he had that incessant nature about him in that he had no choice but to try and perfect this one aspect that had taken ahold of his life. Making friends was almost impossible due to his abrasive personality, but it was something he couldn't control. When he ultimately fails doing the thing he only knew how to do and loved, it's a heartbreaking meltdown. There's a sequence where he recites the famous 'Parrot Sketch' from 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and it's acted with great tenacity, but he saves the best for last in a devastating outpouring and heart to heart with Nathan. I hope to see more of his work in the coming future because he was simply brilliant.It's a shame this film got such limited buzz; it's one of those rare, beautifully crafted pieces of work that comes by and bowls you over. A story that is essentially about people looking for the answer to life itself, one formula that even the greatest mathematicians may never solve.

I was fascinated by its storyline, reviews and ratings, but it did not deliver what I was expected. In fact, it fell simple and dull because of the end. Some people will accept it, but not me. For me it was neither good nor bad. Sometimes I don't care even it was clichéd conclusion, if it's the best thing for the story to have. So this film tried to avoid it and there I lost my interest in this.Like I said the initial parts were very good. Had a very good character called Nathan, a teenage mathematics prodigy. The movie narrates his journey to prepare for participating in one of the most prestigious international competition to represent his country. He gets trained by a finest teacher in the country and remaining tells whether he makes it or not.Actually the film was partially based on one of the Britain's participants from the 2006's IMO, short for International Mathematical Olympiad. Directed by a documentary filmmaker who was inspired by one of his films based on the same theme involving the original main character from this movie.It's not a biography or a completely based on the real, it just inspired and changed entirely for the cinematic presentation. I thought, it was about a genius boy and the competition, but the romance track overhauled and took me as a surprise. Not bad at all, I liked the way the girl and the boy getting to know each other, like similar to the cultural exchange program. Excluding the ending part, it was a good film. That's what I felt, maybe it will be an awesome film for you. The only way to find out is to check it out by yourself.6/10