Love and devotion between two people can overcome a major obstacle in life

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2003)

SPOILER!!`A Beautiful Mind' spans nearly fifty years of the adult life of John Nash; a mathematics genius that is diagnosed as schizophrenic but successfully overcomes the disorder. Russell Crowe gives a superb performance of Nash's complicated range of personalities. Jennifer Connelly performs equally well as Nash's wife, Alicia, who is dedicated to seeing her husband through his illness. The film shows that the love and devotion between two people can overcome a major obstacle in life.

In the opening scenes at Princeton University, Nash is portrayed as being arrogant and antisocial. His priority is to find an original topic idea for his doctorate thesis that would provide him with a prestigious position. His hard work pays off and he is given a research and teaching assignment at MIT. At this point, he begins working with the government as an undercover agent since he has an extraordinary talent of seeing patterns in numbers.

Nash falls in love with Alicia, one of his students, and they marry. Their happiness is interrupted, however, when he is diagnosed with schizophrenia and the treatments, medications, and recovery process begins. Working together Alicia and Nash begin to build a new life in reality. Nash eventually returns to Princeton and gradually earns the respect of both students and faculty.
Alicia exhibits the majority of the love and devotion by staying by Nash's side throughout the diagnosis and treatment of his schizophrenia. There are few direct indications of Nash's feelings for Alicia. However, a recurring motif in the film is Alicia's handkerchief. The handkerchief becomes evidence of Nash's dependence upon and affection toward Alicia. Specifically, it becomes a symbol of an important reality in his life that he needs to help stabilize his condition.

The movie has a surprise twist that is very effective in making the audience try to distinguish between what is reality and what is not. Like `The Sixth Sense,' the twist in this film makes the audience reevaluate what they have seen. This also helps the audience sympathize more when Nash undergoes the treatment and recovery process.
Through the use of love, emotion, and a plot twist, `A Beautiful Mind' holds the audience's interest, and conveys that by working together, the major difficulties in a couple's life can be overcome.