Ron Howard does it like he has never done it before

Rating: Null/10 (5 January 2002)

`A Beautiful Mind'
4 *'s out of 4
Reviewed by Matt Doolittle

`A Beautiful Mind' is a touching story of the life of Professor John Nash. It stars Russell Crowe as John Nash and starts off in college where John Nash is trying to come up with something to get him into an internship at a prestigious university. He comes up with his theory and gets in. We then take a trip through time to John in his occupation as a college professor/code breaker for the pentagon.
(If you have not seen this movie and plan on seeing it, I urge you to please stop here-spoilers ahead)
He then meets up with a government officer named Parcher who tells him that the government needs him to brake codes so that they can find out information on a Russian bomb. Nash agrees and starts working for the government breaking codes in magazines while keeping his other job as a math professor, or so he thinks. He is captured by who every one including him thinks are Russian spies when in reality they are psychiatrists who are trying to help him. We then find out that John has schizophrenia and people he has met including Parcher do not really exist.
This is a touching film in which Russell Crowe is Oscar-worthy and every one does a great job. I was stunned when I saw who was the director of this film. I have to admit Ron Howard did a marvelous job with this film and I dare to say I forgive him for `The Grinch' last year, as well as all of the other flops he has directed. Finally a great film that is not only for the critics, but also for anyone who enjoys going to the movies. I did not talk to anyone who was disappointed in this film.
The actors, director, music, story line, and audience interaction are all as close to perfect as you can get. Again Ron Howard did a great job; Russell Crowe is inspirational as well as the rest of the cast. There is not a boring second in this film and the plot is beautifully written. John Nash is an inspiration to the whole audience and Alicia Nash is astonishing. The things she had to put up with and the things she did make her character not only interesting but also looked up to. If you did not enjoy this film then I urge you to see it again, I think you will change your mind.