Excellent portrayal of a deranged mind.

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2004)

A beautiful mind, a lonely mind, a tormented mind, a frightened mind, a rebellious mind....Russell Crowe portrays in vivid yet controlled detail the degeneration of a mind in turmoil....a sick mind overcome with schizophrenia. Fidgety mannerisms are not pleasant to watch and they grow in number as the malady takes hold. Imagined presence of colleagues at the University where he teaches mathematics and imagined conversations with them suggest that his brain is playing tricks with him. A top psychiatrist called in to examine him confirms his schizophrenia. After undergoing the bizarre shock treatment, the mathematician goes on a course of medication with little promise of cure.
The intriguing part of this film is the confusion arising between real characters and imagined characters. This is intentional for we are seeing life through the eyes of a man suffering terribly from mental illness. It is disturbing to watch, yet fascinating. It makes you feel uncomfortable. Watch closely and you will see patterns on a window pane and patterns of shadows across a flight of steps and patterns taking shape in a jumble of letters of coded text. It is almost as if the mind is too active. And lurking in the shadowy background there is always a threatening figure watching him...or is he just imagined? Trying to reason with such an afflicted person is almost impossible. Much of the mental agony is suffered by persons close to him. Just imagine how difficult it must be to live with a person who can scarcely differentiate between what is real and what is imagined. Here is a man who does not believe in luck but who believes that everything can be explained by some mathematical equation. In life he says there are many equations to be solved, but adds the most mysterious of all is the equation of love. In the hands of the make-up artists Russell Crowe makes a wonderful and absolutely believable Mr. John Nash. Indeed his whole portrayal of Mr. Nash's life is most creditable and truly worthy of an Academy Award.