If only The Professor and the Madman as a whole matched the central performances, but it falls short on a number of levels.

The film is a bombastic dirge verging on the preposterous.

Ironically, for a movie about words, the dialogue only sparks to life on rare occasion.

...an intellectual film, and the result is never boring. Those seeking a break from lowest-common denominator film-making will appreciate the erudite tone and the determination to tell a story which challenges our closeted notions of social respectability