Mean(not so lean) acting machine. Russell Crowe for you.

Rating: 5/10 (17 March 2002)

Though much has been known about Russell Crowe - The Jerk, not enough is said about Russell Crowe - THE Actor.
Reputation of his being a jerk is now part of modern day folklore, what with frequent episodes of his beastly tendencies, from breaking up marriages to beating up his castrators (of his poem, that is). However, upon watching an above average though not brilliant film like "A Beautiful Mind", one temporarily forgets the poem thumper ever existed and start appreciating his genuine talent as a mean(but not so lean) acting machine.
In portraying the Nobel Prize winning math genius, John Nash, Russell Crowe has to assume not just the role of a clever bloke, but also a man lacking adequate social graces and political etiquette(much like the real life actor). On top of that, Mr Crowe has to flesh out the plight of a man plagued by insanity. You see, John Nash also suffered from schizophrenia, a condition which render its victim delusional, paranoid and slowly losing grip with reality.
As this was a straight forward biography of John Nash, a full narrative arc, spanning decades, was presented to the audience. It detailed his genius, the onset of his condition, his spiralling into the depths of insanity, and his gradual path back on the road to recovery. Yet, nowhere in the film was I distracted with the timeline nor the gradual personality shift in the man. All credit goes to Russell Crowe, THE ACTOR. For he delivered a powerful yet restrained performance. He captured our sympathies not with his nuanced mannerisms, bringing out subtle moments of brilliance and anguish. A performance so committed, one is astonished by its utter lack of vanity and artifice.
Dennis Quaid, ex-husband of Meg Ryan, has this to say of THE ACTOR: "Hey, he's a really good actor. I won't tell you what I think of him as a person, though. That I'll leave out."
All said and done, Russell Crowe is a paradoxical A**hole Savant - A real life a**hole but a reel life savant. As long as he continue to churn out performances like that in "A Beautiful Mind", he will continue to earn the utmost respect from discerning viewers like yours truly. As long as he keep digging married women, underage infants or throw up ego-maniacal tantrums, I will wish that he gets full blown HIV plus testicular cancer. This pretty much sums up my ramblings on the guy the world love to hate. I rest my case.