A Beautiful Mind Review
by Ryan Ellis (flickershows AT hotmail DOT com)February 9th, 2004
A Beautiful Mind
a retrospective review
by Ryan Ellis
February 3, 2004
More than ever, it's a shame that Russell Crowe won an Oscar for the lukewarm 'Gladiator'. He sandwiched performances in '99 and '01 ('The Insider' and 'A Beautiful Mind', respectively) that were far, FAR better than the brawny performance which actually won him the award. I'm not quite as big a fan of Crowe's as some are, but he's a powerful and extremely skilled actor. And as much as I have indeed admired his past work, he's at his absolute best in 'A Beautiful Mind'. This movie is Acting 101. Some will say the script, music score, and direction were super. Those elements were all quite good, but it's a "been there, done that" story done with capable technical expertise. Take out Crowe and this film might have gone down the tubes.
It's not just that he gets into the head and heart of John Nash, Nobel Prize winner and genius mathematician. I could say that Crowe becomes the man, but that's too simple a description. He is just so fierce and dedicated to what he's doing in every scene that I fell in love with the character. I cared about him, even as he was stumbling further into madness. This is one of those roles similar to Raymond in 'Rain Man', in that both lead characters have mental problems and neither of them is a traditionally likable guy. After all, how do most of us relate to schizophrenia or autism? I gradually accepted that Nash is a brilliant, reclusive, paranoid schizophrenic. By the time he starts to break down, I was engrossed in his sad story. Credit that to the actor. Movie characters such as Raymond Babbitt, John Nash, and Forrest Gump live in their own peculiar world. Nothing will change them.
The role reminded me of Crowe's own dynamite performance in 'The Insider'. He's paranoid and possibly dangerous to his family as his life falls apart, but he's human and steadfast in his beliefs. He gets the opportunity to run the gamut of emotions in 'A Beautiful Mind', but even when he's seeing imaginary people, you don't laugh. And it's tricky balancing act to play. The situation is awfully close to sitcom material. In each of these films, Crowe's concentration and authenticity is remarkable. In the hands of a lesser actor, the movie would probably implode. Heck, he even ages well. He goes from a college-aged student to a man in his 70s. The makeup is convincing and Crowe manages to act older too. In these scenes, I was thinking of Orson Welles in 'Citizen Kane'. High praise indeed.
This film is also comparable to Ed Harris' 'Pollock', in that it's a story of a potentially great man who battles demons and can only be redeemed by the devout love of his wife. Notice that Ed Harris is in both movies. So is Jennifer Connelly. Useless trivia...or is it? These are two wonderful actors (although I'd enjoy seeing each of them do a comedy now and again, particularly Connelly) and they are the most-important influences in Nash's life. They're his two angels, each whispering in an ear. Nowhere is that more evident than when we first get clear proof our hero is seeing things. Parcher (Harris) is crossing the line by trying to convince Nash to eliminate his own wife and child because they're getting too close to these (made-up) government secrets. It's terrifying and entirely believable. As scenes of familial breakdown go, it's up there with the best of them. Connelly's Alicia Larde Nash is Hollywood gorgeous, but this is one soulful woman too. She's never over the top. Connelly won the Supporting Actress Oscar for this role and deserved it (although you could argue it's a leading performance), but it was also awarded for past performances that went overlooked. [You want a heartbreaking scene? Check out her final phone call to Jared Leto in 'Requiem For A Dream'.] Paul Bettany as best friend, Charles---who is now married to Connelly, incidentally---also plays a figment of Nash's imagination. Charles' "niece" Marcee (Vivien Cardone) fills the final hallucinatory role, and she's the one who tugs at Nash's heartstrings the most. All of these actors do a fine job of playing off Crowe.
Director Ron Howard's resume is similar to Rob Reiner's. They both starred in legendary '70s sitcoms. They've become solid directors who usually give us entertaining films, occasionally making something that strikes a nerve (military hazing rituals in 'A Few Good Men' and the race barrier in 'Ghosts Of Mississippi' for Reiner, kidnapping in 'Ransom' and nerdy astro-heroism in 'Apollo 13' for Howard). Until 'A Beautiful Mind', Howard had never been to the Oscar party. With this picture, he took home 2 trophies (for producing and directing). Is this his best work? Probably not. 'Apollo 13' is a fantastic space yarn, expertly made, and incredibly suspenseful. Since he was passed over entirely for his top-notch direction in that film, his victory on Oscar night in 2002 must have been extra sweet. It's probably fitting that he would be recognized only recently because he has almost always featured ensemble casts that focussed on domestic issues, family and work. Since he rarely over-directs, people notice his actors more than his direction. Even without a huge cast in 'A Beautiful Mind', he still encapsulates those every-day moments. Essentially, this movie is about family and work too. So the one-time Richie Cunningham made a triumphant return after the schlocky & unfunny 'edtv' and 'Grinch' efforts. One question---in a Ron Howard movie, how can there be no Clint Howard? [Apparently, his voice can be heard briefly in one scene.]
This picture reminds me a little of 'The Contender', which wasn't highly original either. What both movies did was break out of their familiar stories, allowing their strong casts to pull the entire production to the highest level. That's not to say that Howard's craftsmen didn't excel. James Horner wrote a memorable score (not as outstanding as what he composed for 'Apollo 13' or even 'Field Of Dreams', but it works), the living legend Roger Deakins paints the pretty pictures with his camera, and the period detail is just right. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (who also won a gold naked guy on Oscar night) wrote a script from Syliva Nasar's book of the same name that hits the right notes and allows the actors some room to create.
For anyone who didn't like 'A Beautiful Mind', I probably can't say anything to turn you around. If you don't respond to the material and believe in the characters, the movie just isn't going to fly. I understand that and now that I've seen it 4 or 5 times (counting the commentary tracks on the DVD), I'll admit that the movie doesn't hold up quite as well with a few years' distance. Even after spending several hours with the DVD and watching all the extra features, I'm not sure how Nash does what he does---namely, the mathematics. Nash's Game Theory makes no sense to me (well, I hated calculus and chemistry in high school, so what do I know?), but the movie doesn't make it as clear as they should what it is he's solving. We know he IS coming up with something, and taking decades to do it...all the while trying to control his visions and outbursts. In fact, this leads to a theme that interests me---do you have to be insane to be a genius? If Nash can be called a genius (and we've already established that he's what most people would call crazy), he indeed fits a profile. Most of us are too mediocre to be either.
As for the big plot twist (which everybody knows by now...and if you didn't, I've spilled the beans here), it's not all that shocking. What I love is that it occurs halfway through the story. It would HAVE to since this isn't an "I was dead all along, Haley Joel" or "oh, HE'S Keyser Soze" or "Rosebud is the sled" final duh-duh-duh-DUH moment. Howard uses this plot device well, then lets us in on the secret when it's pretty clear that keen audience members are on to the tricks. If you buy into the fact that three of the main characters aren't real, you can believe everything else the story has to offer. It takes some competent professionals to pull it off...this story about a wicky-wacky math nerd. And it works.
But what I remember best about 'A Beautiful Mind' is sitting down in a theatre on a Thursday night a few days after Christmas in 2001 and seeing this movie unfold. Given the talent involved, I expected a good time. Nothing could prepare me for how amazing Russell Crowe was going to be. Now that he's followed this up with a witty and swashbuckling performance in 'Master And Commander', the Oscar-winner is proving that he's good enough to hit home runs almost every time out. Crowe didn't win the Academy Award for playing John Nash and that's unfortunate. At least he starred in a blockbuster Best Picture winner and gave us one of the great performances of recent years in this beautiful movie.
To contact me with kudos or criticism, write to flickershows@hotmail.com.
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