The true story of how England’s first edition of the encyclopedia The Oxford English Dictionary was created.
The uneducated language genius James Murray (Mel Gibson) takes on the enormous responsibility of creating the first edition of the encyclopedia The English Oxford Dictionary even though several earlier attempts have shipwrecked. During the long grueling process stretching over several years James Murray is also about to give up. Partly because of the enormous and chaotic workload and partly because of the resistance from the deciding committee behind the work.
Shortly before James Murray finally gives up, he receives unexpected help from an American citizen dr. William Minor (Sean Penn) who is residing in England. However, he is a patient at a psychiatric hospital sentenced for murder. Together the two of them create the tale of how madness, genius, perseverance, friendship, and resistance create the first edition of The Oxford English Dictionary.
The film is worth seeing first of all because of the fascinating story behind the work of creating England’s first dictionary, but also because of the extraordinary performance that Sean Penn puts in the role as the schizophrenic doctor William Minor. You can find the film on several streaming services.
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