Best movie seen at the theater in a long time

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2002)

A Beautiful mind was by far the best film I have seen in the theater for a little bit of time now. Before that I would say that the Sixth Sense was the best--although there were excellent movies that did come out after. (I had just seen those at home). Nevertheless, "A Beautiful Mind" should not be ignored and should be viewed by those who feel out of place with themselves and try their hardest to show their potential..but never seem to be able to get it across to someone. As a person, I do not particularly care for Russell Crowe. The whole hoopla behind the Academy might have done him in for an award, but nevertheless, Crowe shines as John Forbes Nash, Jr. in "Mind". His performance was that of how the old times in cinema used to be--very in touch with their characters, and flawless in their performances. Russell Crowe is comparible to Tony Curtis's portrayal of Albert De Salvo in Richard Fleischer's "The Boston Strangler". Although they are complete different performances, Crowe delivers his with the same impact of Tony Curtis's character. Mr. Crowe was phenomenal, and to my wishes, was not overlooked by the Academy but simply given a close race against Denzel Washington. Many people disagreed with Nash's schizophrenia not being unveiled until the middle of the film, and I will admit that it was upsetting to me, but the good aspects of this film really overshadowed the slight flaws of dislike within the movie. I was more disappointed that Nash was not in fact doing all these things for the government and aiding us at the times of the Cold War. However, Nash's true genius made up for this factor and allowed the viewer to see that he truly was a genius but just one that simply had to overcome an obstical that was so slight compared to the intelligence he possessed. Along with Crowe's magnificent performance, we were given a marvelous music score by James Horner. (I think that had Randy Newman not won simply for breaking his losing streak, Mr. Horner would have scooped up the award). The music added a beautiful tone to the movie and showed what Nash's mind must feel like within--eerie, confused, and beautiful. On a last note, As wonderful as Jennifer Connelly was in her role, I really think that her Oscar was uneccessary. She turned in a decent performance, but was certainly not Oscar caliber compared to the great Dame Maggie Smith's comic performance, and the ever charming Marissa Tomei's performance. But nevertheless, her Oscar just added to the movies list. :) If you intend on seeing a compelling movie with one of the best male actor's performance's in a long time, pull up a seat and watch "A Beautiful Mind". [Congrats to Ron Howard] :)