Novion’s film boasts four screenwriters, and feels as though it’s been polished and chiselled to kingdom come. It’s the story of a female mathematician who loses her way, discovers her inner woman, becomes a mahjong wizard, finds her way, loses herself in her obsessive quest for greatness, and finally finds love. As a narrative it’s as contrived as it sounds, hitting formulaic beats which may well have come out of a screenwriting textbook. Which is not to say that it’s ineffective. There’s a lot of craft in the construction of the film, plenty of art design, graphics, and a concerted effort to show us that maths isn’t boring. On the contrary, the true mathematician is an artist, seeking to unearth universal truths for the good of society. In many ways it feels as though Le Théorème de Marguerite would make for a great case study. What makes for an effective movie as opposed to a great movie? Or are these criteria in any way useful? Perhaps someone can attempt to construct an equation to solve these riddles, or perhaps this is indeed the question that Marguerite is seeking a solution to, as she turns her walls into a beguiling work of cave art, which might just contain the secret to the universe.
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