A great combination of previous oscar darlings Shine, Forrest Gump & Rainman

Rating: 8/10 (24 March 2002)

What do you get when you assemble the geniality from Geoffrey Rush in "Shine", the intonation from Dustin Hoffman in "Rainman" and the clothing ethics from Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump"? You get Russel Crowe in A Beautiful Mind a.k.a. John Nash, a brilliant mathmetician that keeps seeing (dead anyone?:-) people around him. Although I didn't agree with last year's oscarwinning role in Gladiator, I do believe that A Beautiful Mind gives Crowe the stage where he shows his acting ability to the highest level seen in recent years. The movie is a delightful adaptation from the original biography, althought it must be said that most facts have been interpreted "politically correct", unfortunately leaving out lesser flattering, but imperative facts about the life of John Nash.
Jennifer Connelly, playing the role of supporting partner to a lesser fortunate soul, gives another great performance after gems like Requiem for a Dream & Pollock. Although she didn't convince me of the fact that she was a brilliant mathmetician, she did play the role of supporting half to the utmost possible level. Her beauty is unparallelled in recent years by any other actress, and even at the end of the movie when she's transformed into an older lady, all the make-up in the world couldn't make her lesser attractive!
Ron Howard delivers a moving, mindbuggling bioepic that will have a profound effect on anyone that will come across it. It simply leaves you breathless and in awe of the great acting performances, brilliant editing and beautiful settings. A must see!