Fabulous film with an extra stroke of brilliance

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2002)

I was very much impressed with the acting and presentation of this movie. But, what I really want to point out is what I consider one of the most brilliant examples of slight of hand in a movie that I have ever seen. **** minor spoiler alert **** It is sad that we have become conditioned to stupidity in film making. Nuclear weapons can accidentally detonate, guns never seem to run out of ammunition, the CIA can do anything, etc. When Ron Howard presented me with a cold-war code breaking scenario involving a German nuclear bomb, I knew it was nonsense and fully accepted that something so dumb could be put into a movie by an otherwise savvy director. Of course, it turns out to not exist. This trick very much impressed me. It showed that Ron Howard is aware that we are conditioned to stupidity and was willing to use that against us, thereby exploiting a weakness in the viewer that expands the range of illusion. Later, he tricks us again when we realize that the illusions are not always so well telegraphed. If was this element of A Beautiful Mind that most impressed me. Yes, this film works on many other levels, but it took this extra stroke of brilliance to earn a 10/10 from me.