Beautiful Glimpse - Dangerous Theme.

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2002)

I'm very torn over rating the job Ron Howard has done on this film. There are hints of brilliance in the film, along with major gaps in character development and the portrayal of a theme that I think could be irresponsible. (See the last full paragraph for explanation on the problem with the theme.)
It is difficult to say who deserves credit for exposing the horror of Schizophrenia. Howard, Crowe, and the writers, Akiva Goldsman and Slvia Nasar all deserve consideration. I suspect one of these four if not all of them has dealt with Schizophrenia on a very personal level. All deserve credit for creating a wonderful and worthwhile movie to watch. The portrayal of this illness was accomplished as well as I've ever seen done in a film, and that alone makes seeing it worth the price of admission. Russell Crowe is nearly perfect in this role. Despite a rumored comment* illustrating a complete lack of understanding of what Schizophrenia is, Crowe's performance pulls you so deeply into the movie, you may find yourself forgetting about the scrambled plot. Watching; is an exercise in voyeurism. We get small glimpses into the life of John Nash here and there, but not quite the whole story. Howard and Crowe team up well to portray `what it's like,' but I'm afraid the story was fragmented and left me unsatisfied. I want to know more about John Nash. If not for the brilliant glimpse into the undesirable `life' a Schizophrenic lives, this movie would not satisfy as well on other levels. If you were to take Crowe's performance out, you may be left with a dull biography suitable for late night television.
***Possible Spoiler****
I've been trying to decide what I think of the first 45 minutes to an hour of this movie. In one respect I feel cheated and tricked. (Very well tricked I might add. - Kudos to Howard on that.) In the other respect, I think it is vital to feeling how `tricked' a Schizophrenic person can feel. I think the decision to take the movie on this route, accomplishes one goal while hindering the other. On the one hand, it takes us on the hellish journey many Schizophrenics face; on the other hand it makes a mess of the plot and throws the continuity off. If we were to say the plot is not so important, and that experiencing Schizophrenia is what it is all about here, then I would have to say this movie is a 10.
***End Spoiler***
One thing about this movie concerns me. As the movie is coming to an end we start to see a `Love conquers all' theme emerge. While love is powerful and beautiful, and quite possibly all we need, it cannot cure Schizophrenia. Many who suffer from Schizophrenia would be extremely lucky to ever experience the kind of romantic love John Nash is portrayed as receiving in this film. I hope that not too many people afflicted with this disease watch this movie and come away thinking they need to run out and find someone to love them romantically in order to achieve their dreams and live a full life. One of the major and most basic horrors that come with this disease is not portrayed in this film. That Horror is; that many schizophrenics go their entire lives - and never experience True Love. I can't think of anything more horrific than that.
My hat goes off to the family of John Nash for allowing Hollywood into their lives. Thank you for allowing your lives to be scrutinized in order to raise awareness of this illness.
*I heard that in an interview Crowe made reference to Schizophrenia as a "multiple personality disorder". I do not know if this is true.