The Oxford Murders

Martin (Elijah Wood), an American student at the University of Oxford, sets his sights on Arthur Seldom (Hurt) as his thesis supervisor. To secure his mentorship, Martin takes up residence in Oxford at the home of Mrs. Eagleton (Anna Massey), an old friend of Seldom's. The household is filled with intriguing characters, including Beth (Julie Cox), Mrs. Eagleton's daughter, who serves as her full-time caregiver - a role she resents deeply. As a musician by profession, Beth's creative energy is stifled by the weight of responsibility.

As Martin navigates his new surroundings, he discovers that Seldom has a reputation for being particular about the company he keeps. Beth warns Martin that Seldom has a penchant for young girls and shares an unsettling fact: Mrs. Eagleton's husband and Seldom were once close friends who collaborated on theoretical projects together.

Seldom's public lecture at the university sparks a heated exchange between him and Martin, who is eager to impress his idol. In a bid to demonstrate his intellectual prowess, Martin disputes Seldom's assertion that absolute truth is impossible, citing mathematics as an example of objective reality. However, Seldom skillfully dismantles Martin's arguments, leaving him feeling humiliated in front of the audience.

Crushed by the experience, Martin begins to question his academic pursuits and considers abandoning his studies altogether. It is there that he encounters Podorov (Burn Gorman), a bitter mathematician who shares Martin's disappointment at being rejected by Seldom.

As Martin struggles to find direction, he returns home to find Seldom arriving at Mrs. Eagleton's residence, where they discover the lifeless body of their landlady. The police are called, and Seldom reveals that he had received a cryptic note prior to the murder, addressed to Mrs. Eagleton and stating simply "the first of a series." As an expert in logical series, Seldom hypothesizes that the murderer is using the crime as a means to challenge his intellectual prowess.

Martin and Seldom engage in a fascinating discussion about the ease with which the murder might have gone unnoticed, particularly given the victim's terminal illness. Martin proposes the concept of "imperceptible murders," where the killer targets individuals who are already dying, making it less likely for the authorities to suspect foul play.

Beth confides in Martin that she has been waiting for her mother's passing so that she can finally have a life of her own, acknowledging that death is an inevitability.

As the gruesome murders continue to unfold, Martin and his companions, Seldom and Lorna (Leonor Watling), a Spanish nurse with whom Martin has formed a romantic connection, must navigate the treacherous landscape of mathematical clues, police suspicion, and their own complicated relationships. Amidst the growing body count and escalating tensions among the trio, they find themselves entangled in a web of suspects that seems to expand exponentially.

The enigmatic mathematician Podorov reveals a dark secret from Seldom's past: 30 years prior, Seldom was driving when his wife and Eagleton's husband were tragically killed in a car crash. This revelation sparks a series of visits by Seldom to the hospital where Lorna works, including a poignant encounter with one of his students who has undergone a radical transformation.

The patient, Carmen, a cancer sufferer, has discovered an uncanny similarity between the logical thought patterns of exceptionally gifted individuals and those who have undergone lobotomy. In a desperate attempt to reconcile this paradox, he took matters into his own hands, performing a self-lobotomy using a nail gun. Now, he's been confined to the hospital for years, leaving behind a trail of cryptic messages.

As the second murder occurs, another symbol is left as a clue in a series that seems destined to remain forever elusive. Meanwhile, Beth becomes increasingly obsessed with Martin, her hurt feelings exacerbated by her discovery of his intimate relationship with Lorna. Seldom's admission that he had a past sexual involvement with Lorna only adds fuel to the fire, casting suspicion on her character.

Beth's own motivations come into question when she reveals to Martin that she has spoken to the police, accusing him of being a repressed homosexual and an admirer of Seldom. The psychological analysis of the note concludes that the writer is indeed a repressed individual trying desperately to gain admiration, potentially from Seldom. This new development casts Martin as a suspect in the eyes of the authorities.

The tension culminates at a concert where Beth performs, attended by both Seldom and Martin. In a shocking turn of events, the conductor dies abruptly on stage, leaving the police to recover the third symbol in a crime scene that seems tailor-made for their investigation.

As Martin's intimacy with Lorna unfolds, a profound connection is forged between the symbols etched on her skin and the dark secrets they conceal. The truth begins to unravel like a tapestry when Martin recalls a patient at Lorna's hospital whose desperation for an organ donor struck a chord within him. The man, it turns out, was driving a busload of mentally impaired individuals, an eerie coincidence that Martin can't shake off. His investigation leads the police to intercept one bus, only to realize they've stopped the wrong vehicle, leaving the actual suspect bus to drive by mere minutes later and erupt in a fiery explosion. The deceased driver is subsequently hailed as a serial killer, his alleged modus operandi being to create an alibi for his own impending demise by jumping from the bus before it detonated. But what's more chilling is that this tragic event was actually a ploy to save the life of the man's daughter, who desperately needed an organ transplant.

As Martin delves deeper into the mystery, he experiences a moment of clarity and tracks down Seldom, the mastermind behind the sinister scheme. It becomes clear that there was no serial killer; instead, Beth had killed her own mother to reclaim her life, and Seldom had concocted the entire narrative of an elusive murderer to deflect attention from Beth's actions. The bus driver, desperate to save his daughter, unwittingly became a part of this ruse, ultimately sacrificing his life in the process. Seldom concedes Martin's revelation, but with a twist: he accuses Martin of being the true culprit, as Beth's love for him had inspired her to take control of her own destiny.