Delusional mathematician=interesting, Sane=Boring

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2002)

Spoilers Alert Ron Howard's best work yet is not without it's flaws. The story of John Nash is no doubt a difficult story to tackle, after all he developed the "Game Theory" of economics which I read about & which gave me headaches for weeks after. Representing that in the film in any sort of depth would be very hard to do without alienating a vast population of cinema goers, although complex mathematical problems have been represented in an understandable & entertaining way before (most notably with the efforts of British code breakers & cracking the Nazi Enigma cyphers).
Here's the dilemma then, as Russell Crowe's mumbling Nash descends into delusions the story is interesting. Ed Harris is spooky as the "Big Brother" character called Parcher, who works in a world of spies & espionage. The slide from reality to unreality is very well done, you really can't tell that Nash has slipped his leash & wandered off into increasingly paranoid delusions unless you know the story already. From then on it's an occasionaly fast paced plot about breaking Russian codes, tracking suitcased sized atomic bombs that are being routed across the US by a radical faction of the Soviet military. All very James Bond & there's plenty to keep you glued to the screen.
The reality takes a back seat, to the extent that you wonder just what on earth the world was doing to allow Nash to keep working in his lofty position while all this hallucination was going on. Now I can understand that you only have so much time, so much story line to devote & that avenues are explored at the expense of others, but if you don't know what John Nash's accomplishments were (his "Game Theory" revolutionised economics) then you spend the rest of the film confused. Although his new theory is mentioned, a result of his university search for a completely original area of maths, only at the end is a passing reference made to the importance of his breakthrough. In fact I know some people who think that his unequaled contribution to the world & the reason why he was in such a good job, was the breaking of the above mentioned Soviet codes! This is an indication of how confusing the story can be & I know that it needs to be shown that Nash was delusional, but not at the risk of having the audience lose the plot!
All this is due to the overstating of his delusional world, which is cleverly done, but there's far too much smoke & mirrors for the real story to emerge. For instance it is well into the second half of the film that you find out that his college room mate Charles (Paul Bettanay) is actually an illusion. This is skillfully done, it has to be said (the scene in Dr Rosen's (Christopher Plummer) office), but by then you have to sit & think far too much about dominant plot lines that have happened before. I'm all for films making you think, rather than the force fed cotton candy rubbish of Spielberg or Brockheimer, but I found the phase change too confusing. There really should have been a few more clues to build suspicion in the viewing public's mind.
There are some hints. For instance there are several characters that never interact with the real world. They also never age, a vital point to Nash's eventual recognition of his illness & the way in which he managed to live with it. But it's far too subtle, to the point where the hints fade into obscurity & the importance is lost.
Of course you go, "Ooohhh' & "Aaahhhh" when the truth is revealed, but then we have the second problem, we're back to dry reality & nothing interesting happens. It becomes a life struggle, a unique story non the less, as I don't know how many people have overcome their paranoid delusions simply by applying their on intelect. But rapidly it settles into well worn tracks that are dusted off yet again. Triumph over adversity, love conquers all, the value of friendship, blah blah blah. Iwas left thinking that having Parcher around was better!
A final criticism revolves around the sound. Many years ago when Al Pacino & Robert Deniro came along we had a terrible series of "mumbling" films, where you couldn't hear what on earth people were saying. This film is bordering on the same, with one minute explosions of sound, followed by long periods of "what did he say????". With modern sound production techniques there really is no excuse.
Visually it is absolutely flawless, the cinematography flows without effort & the eye is constantly at ease with what is being shown. I like that, it's the way it should be. The music is well sorted out too, setting the mood very well without being obtrusive. This isn't a high octane thriller, so we're treated to a background sound track that stays there, adding to the flavour perfectly.
The actors are also wonderful, although Russel Crowe mumbles far too much, as I said. Ed Harris is teriffic as the government spook, Parcher, fitting the 1950s suit & hat with a combination of attention holding aura & chilling malice. Jennifer Connelly is the long suffering wife, a part that doesn't give her much room for development, but she gets to flesh the part out as much as she can (like I said, some aspects of Nash's life get trimmed as the delusional world takes up so much time). Christopher Plummer as the psychiatrist Dr Rosen is a little disturbing, the line where he forciably takes Nash into hospital is somethign like "I just want to talk with you", which you know means he's going to actually lock him up. None the less it's good to see Plummer still getting work & doing it very well indeed.
One final point surrounds Nash's sexual preferences. I've heard from several gay that Nash went both ways, with a preference for men & that this wasn't shown. I've no idea how true this is, but if it is the case I don't think it's very fair to leave this out. After all if it's OK to have the subject of severe mental illness raised, why not his sexual orientation? Others, those who are more informed ont he subject, will have to explore that avenue.