|
 Beautiful
Mind, A (2001) Starring:
Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris
Director: Ron Howard
Rating:
R
Studio:
Universal
Review
Posted: 1.3.02
Spoilers:
Minor to Major
Rating: 3.5/4
Read the DVD
Review<<<
By
Angelo.
The
mind is indeed a beautiful thing. It is the reason for our
ingenuity, artistic originality and maybe even our humanity.
What happens however when the mind works against us? When it
tricks us into believing that what is not real to be the actual,
destroying our sense of being? This is what “A Beautiful
Mind” tackles, a thought-provoking film based on a true story
with lots of brain behind it, but more importantly, lots of
heart within it.
Russell Crowe is John Nash, a mathematical genius who sees life
through numbers. We curiously watch him as he observes a pack of
pigeons and tries to formulate an algorithm for their feeding
patterns; or when John witnesses a mugging, and he sets up the
incident as vectors and summarizing the event through
complicated theorems and formulas. John basically wants to
explain life’s behaviors through precise mathematical proofs,
but his own behavior is somewhat enigmatic itself.
He is a bit of a loner, an anti-social scholar at Princeton
University, scribbling equations on chalkboards and windows that
only 0.001% of us will understand. Social interactions are not
quite honed, as he tries to get a girl to go out with him, but
the few words that he does say includes something about
exchanging bodily fluids. In time however, John forms a few good
friends, and even manages to have a girl, Alicia (Jennifer
Connelly) fall for him.
[Warning: Plot spoiler in next paragraph]
The film is set in the 1940’s, and the Cold War seedling is
burgeoning. Mathematicians made the Allied victory possible, and
their help is sought ought once more to help against the
Russians. John has a knack for breaking cryptic codes and is
hired by the government to interpret intercepted numerical
messages sent by the enemy. He is involved in highly classified
projects and has basically been transformed into a spy. However,
the situation gets a bit gnarly as men in dark trench coats and
fedoras begin to chase John. On top of that, it doesn’t quite
help that he suffers from schizophrenia, a degenerative brain
condition that causes John to hallucinate and slowly lose
contact with reality. He must now depend on his human
connections to help him get through the dilemma.
“A Beautiful Mind” is a love story, a biography and a spy
flick wrapped up together in one package, and works quite
effectively on all these levels. Written by Akiva Goldsman and
Sylvia Nasar, along with the highly taut direction of Ron
Howard, the film is tremendously engaging, despite running a bit
too long. It has surprises that will keep you guessing, but most
of all, it evokes drama that is heartfelt. Anchored by the
strong chemistry between John and Alicia, his personal troubles
sifting nightmares from reality becomes a powerful human
struggle. A man who achieved greatness all by himself now needs
the assistance of others to get through life.
The performances are reliably excellent from its two leading
stars. “A Beautiful Mind” is getting a lot of clout for the
Oscars with its multiple Golden Globe nominations, which might
mean another nomination for Russell Crowe for Best Actor (which
he won for “Gladiator” and NOT “The Insider”…still
quite upsetting). Crowe is great as John Nash, although
sometimes he looks a tad bit old for the part. The beautiful
Jennifer Connelly is wonderful too as John’s love interest,
and boy does she know how to pick a good script. She has been
involved in some of the best movies within the last four years,
including 1998’s “Dark City” and last year’s “Requiem
for a Dream”. She exemplifies classic beauty and knows how to
add passion to her character.
Overall, “A Beautiful Mind” is a very good film with its
mind and heart in all the right places.
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