A Beautiful Mind Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)December 23rd, 2001
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Vivien Cardone, Judd Hirsch, Josh Lucas, Anthony Rapp and Christopher Plummer. Music by James Horner. Cinematography by Roger Deakins. Screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, based on the book by Sylvia Nasar. Director by Ron Howard. 132 minutes. Rated PG-13.
A brilliant performance by Russell Crowe, who takes his audience on a terrifying journey inside a man tormented by self-created mental demons, propels A Beautiful Mind.
What makes this drama even more harrowing — and inspirational — is that its biographical. The film follows the life of mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1994.
But before earning that honor Nash spent decades battling paranoid schizophrenia, and the film traces his agonizing experiences as he fights to regain control of his life.
In 1947 the gifted, but highly eccentric Nash is at Princeton for graduate study in mathematics. He is a loner, unskilled nor interested in the social graces. Mathematics and its theories are his whole life. His obsession is discovering an original concept.
He finds his inspiration one night at a bar as he observes his fellow grad students’ reaction to a coed. From this, comes Nash’s paper on game theory — the mathematics of competition.
Because of his groundbreaking formula Nash wins a coveted research post at MIT. There he also meets Alicia Larde (Jennifer Connelly), a physics student who develops an almost immediate attraction to Nash.
Viewers may discern some similarities between A Beautiful Mind and Shine, Scott Hicks’ bio-pic about pianist David Helfgott, whose talent also was overshadowed by mental problems. Both stories focus on driven individuals who use their God-given gifts to overcome or cope with their disorders. And both feature strong women whose love and support aid their husbands on their roads toward recovery.
Director Ron Howard, working from a script by Akiva Goldsman, based on a book by Sylvia Nasar, brings the audience into Nash’s world. What Nash sees, the viewer sees. Thus when Nash is pulled back into reality, the viewer receives a similar jolt and must rethink the events that have transpired.
Crowe gets deep inside his character, presenting Nash as a socially awkward individual out of step with not only his classmates but it seems the rest of humanity. He is a fidgety, nervous individual who seems to mutter and ramble. As portrayed by Crowe, Nash’s actions at first seem only eccentricities, not some manifestation of the mental disease that will soon dominate him.
Oscar loves actors who portray people with mental afflictions (Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man) as well as those who rise above them (Geoffrey Rush in Shine). So expect Crowe to be one of the five nominees come Feb. 12.
And, yes, the accolade will be well-deserved. Just watch how Crowe looks, comports himself and speaks in Gladiator, then compare it with A Beautiful Mind. In the former he appears 7 feet tall and as powerful as a Hercules. In A Beautiful Mind, he looks shorter, his shoulders are stooped, he acts as if he feels uncomfortable in his own body.
A Beautiful Mind suffers the same flaw as most film biographies; it puts the emphasis on the drama of the uncovering and affects of the malady, and telescopes through the years of recovery in a few short scenes.
In films of this genre, the female lead generally is a thankless part, with the actress required only to smile, cry and look brave while her man suffers.
But Connelly’s Alicia takes a proactive stance in fighting for her husband. At her lowest point she prepares to abandon him, but relents when he admits to his problem. From that point, she encourages and pushes him to regain his equilibrium.
One of the film’s distractions, unfortunately, is Connelly's old-age makeup during the finale. It looks hastily constructed and cheaply done, especially compared with the job done on Crowe.
The film also features Ed Harris as the government agent who dominates Nash’s life. His performance exudes relentlessness.
A Beautiful Mind is one of those life-affirming films that Hollywood so loves to trot out during Academy Award season. Many seem forced and phony. But a few actually feel genuine and do not pander to the audience.
A Beautiful Mind is one such picture. John Nash’s struggle should help shed some light and understanding on this debilitating affliction.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloomjc@yahoo.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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