A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose.

Rating: 9/10 (25 August 2005)

The story of John Forbes Nash doesn't seem like the subject matter anyone would want to make a film of, but Ron Howard brings forth his life-story in a way that makes one forget he was also the man behind 80s fluff such as SPLASH and WILLOW.
A life destined to excel once he discovers and cracks his "game theory," John Forbes Nash is, however, a man disconnected with his surroundings and reality. He can't even approach a girl without fumbling his way through an especially creepy introduction, and at the same time he can't stand losing a simple mind-game with his friend. At the same time, four other people make their appearances in Nash's life and all three are destined to change his life forever.
The first of them is a college friend Charlie (Paul Bettany of GANGSTER NO. 1) who later introduces Nash to his young daughter Marcee, Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), whom he marries, and a sinister figure: William Parcher (Ed Harris). Parcher has special designs for Nash: he wants him to use his keen code-cracking skills for special top-secret assignments involving the Russians and other obscure elements and on one night Nash gets to see just how dangerous the enemy is as he and Parcher are shot at after Nash delivers some information to a strange mansion posing as an intelligence office.
It's not long before Nash becomes consumed with finding the perfect code and aided by the omni-present Parcher, who supplies Nash with a security code embedded into his own skin, he dives headlong into a nightmare of numbers and codes and soon enough collapses into full-fledged schizophrenia which will require shock treatment and an arduous recovery period. Alicia, instead of moving on, forcefully stays by his side even when he has a dangerous regression and almost kills their baby child.
Stories like this require a tight script and thorough knowledge of the circumstance of mental illness as well as the person in question, in this case Nash. Howard directs Nash's progressive descent into his mental breakdown with ease and in a way where we're not sure if anyone who surrounded Nash is real -- the way he introduces Charlie, Marcee, and especially Parcher and the covert office is spectacular and shows just how strong schizophrenia can be in inducing its victims to completely believe what they are seeing and hearing.
And then there are the performances. I don't think I need to say anything which hasn't been said of Russell Crowe. He is, right now, the only living actor who has the guts and balls to put his masculinity aside and dive head-first into the roles he plays. His screen presence oozes a magnetic, masculine power (and in one scene it's clear the man is built) but that doesn't overcome his characterization of Nash. If anything, he uses his physicality as an asset to clumsily walk around, and there is one scene later in the movie when he has returned to teach classes. He walks with the shuffle of someone who's lost in his own world. It would be hard-pressed for anyone to see the staccato waddle and the glazed eyes that he wouldn't be talking to himself in full-fledged conversations, and the hippie who mocks him, unnoticed, expresses Anyone's reaction. We know this is a genius, but one who has become damaged goods.
Then there's Jennifer Connelly. An actress who as of yet has avoided selling out to blatant commercialism, her presence is as powerful as Crowe's. Quiet but intense, she is the foundation of which Crowe's feet rest on and without her he might as well be dead. Just one scene, when she is about to discover just how crazy her husband is and his colleagues are trying to stop her: just watch her reel around and casually but with authority slap one of them squarely in the face and continue on, undeterred. Marvelous acting. Her Oscar is justified.
The entire supporting cast is uniformly brilliant. Ed Harris nails his creepy role as the imaginary Parcher. Paul Bettany gives off friendly dependency -- the friend who won't go away, even though he, too, isn't real. Judd Hirsch, Adam Goldberg, and Christopher Plummer provide solid support in small roles.
A complex movie about mental illness as well as the power of love and the triumph of the soul (even if love -- the devotion between Alicia and John -- is excruciatingly strained at times), A BEAUTIFUL MIND is truly, a beautiful experience and justly won the Oscar for Best Movie and Director and should have also won Best Actor, but Russell Crowe will stick around for quite some time giving powerhouse performances. He is one strong actor to follow. I know I will.