*** 1/2 out of ****

Rating: 8/10 (15 October 2002)

Emotionally powerful, often painful and frustrating, but ultimately uplifting story of mathematical genius John Nash (Russell Crowe), who suffers from schizophrenia. Criticized for being too sentimental and/or sappy, but that's just the kind of movie it is. A criticism like that is like calling "Airplane" too funny, "Rear Window" too suspenseful, or "The Exorcist" too scary. The movie is so genuinely heartfelt that it's impossible to dismiss - and it has an interesting, well told story to boot. Packed with two superior performances by Crowe and Connelly, Crowe's being arguably the best of his career.