Charming cast shines in director’s promising feature film debut

Nathan (Asa Butterfield) struggles with social awkwardness exacerbated by the death of his father and inability to identify with his mother (Sally Hawkins).

Essentially a coming of age tale, Nathan’s autism offers a stimulating perspective on the genre in this first feature from documentary filmmaker Morgan Matthews. The customary ‘first love’ angle goes beyond the familiar boy-becomes-man motif, contributing instead to Nathan’s developing relationship with his mum.

It’s social distance and the effort it takes to reach one another that lies at the heart of X+Y. Nathan’s maths tutor (Rafe Spall) faces his own social demons as a result of multiple sclerosis, while fellow maths competitor Luke (Jake Davies) disguises his public unease with bravado.

Nathan proves unable to stand-up for, or console, his teammate but Morgan elicits a pained silence from Butterfield that reveals his inner struggle. Spall’s charming off-key humour provides X+Y’s poignant laughs but its Butterfield’s quiet attempts to dovetail mathematics with love that delivers the dramatic punch.

This is a director with much promise, muting all allegations of sentimental calculation on account of his charming cast.

4/5