A Beautiful Mind
Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, and Christopher Plummer.
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriter: Akiva Goldsman
Studio: Universal
Production Company: DreamWorks Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer Productions
This movie is inspired by the traumatic and often sad life of John Nash. John Nash was a mathematics genius who went on to win a Nobel Prize. Nash (played by Russell Crowe), is also a paranoid schizophrenic. Along with his mental illness, Nash is ’’gifted’’ with superior intellect.
Nash is very socially inept, so we are surprised when the character played by Jennifer Connelly, is awe struck from the moment she meets him. They fall in love and marry. However, his mental illness pushes their relationship to the brink.
The movie does a great job of mixing his reality with delusion. This is effective in letting us know how he must suffer on a daily basis. I would go into more detail about this, but this is important to the film, and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.
This particular film hits close to home, because I have a daughter, who by all accounts is brilliant, but her struggles with mental illness make her life impossible. Her brother, who is of average intelligence, will accomplish more in life than she probably ever will, because she is plagued by the demons in her mind on an almost daily basis.
Ron Howard did a wonderful job with this film. I highly recommend it to anyone.
This film earned Four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screen Play, Best supporting Actress. However, I honestly feel Russell Crowe should have won Best Actor for this role.