Ron Howard's Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2017)

Director Ron Howard has had his name attached to some pretty prestigious projects over the years, such as "Apollo 13", "Cinderella Man", and "The Da Vinci Code", to name but a few. "A Beautiful Mind", however, is (pound-for-pound) probably the best Howard-directed movie of the lot.
For a basic plot summary, this film looks at the life of John Nash (Russell Crowe), a brilliant (but quite eccentric) mathematician who is approached by shadowy government figure Parcher (Ed Harris) to work as a code-breaker to help expose a Soviet Union bomb plot. As Nash becomes obsessed with his work, wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) begins to wonder whether or not John is truly "working" at all. To say any more would completely ruin the plot.
I could write an essay on why this movie is so great, but to do so would give away key plot details that would ruin the experience for you. Suffice it to say, though, that there are plot twists that you won't see coming even if you know that some are coming! Plus, thanks to the direction of Ron Howard, this is the kind of movie that really isn't even about the "twist". It is more about the extraordinary life of Mr. Nash.
The acting in "A Beautiful Mind" is also top-notch. As I've said in other reviews of movies starring Crowe, I cannot recall him EVER turning in a bad performance on screen. I mean, the same guy who can play a Gladiator in one movie and and boxer in another ("Cinderella Man") can almost effortlessly (although I'm sure it isn't) transform himself into a much more cerebral role here. Co- stars Connelly and Harris play nice supporting roles as well, especially Connelly as Nash's wife who quite literally cannot believe what she is seeing from her husband on occasion.
Thus, I consider "A Beautiful Mind" to rank among my personal favorites. It has an intriguing plot, yet focuses heavily on the characters to make you really feel for them. Not only does in continue the "Russell Crowe streak of perfection", but it also cements Howard as a top-notch director.