The bad taste just won't go away

Rating: Null/10 (29 June 2002)

I cannot begin to describe the level of disappointment that this highly hyped film brought. Crowe was absolutely unbelievable as a West Virginian, or as a Mathematician. As a victim of schizophrenia, he succeeds.

One of the problems with truth based film is that we have to really believe the story and in this one even the truth is difficult to swallow because it is so far removed from ordinary experience. I suppose that audiences like the film because Nash ultimately gains recognition and ends up proving that mental illness can be kicked by picking oneself up by their bootstraps which is perhaps the most dangerous sentiment of the movie and a reason in and of itself why the movie should be avoided. I felt pity for the character that was and is John Nash but couldn't see beyond Maximus for much of the film. When Crowe takes of his shirt he takes off the only pretense of the young mathematician.
In the final part of the movie the make up is superb and one even feels that Crowe is finally able to throw off his "hunk" image and get into the character. I did like that, but still the movie left a bad taste in my mouth.