A Beautiful Movie. A Remarkable Performance.

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2013)

Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind is an expertly crafted biopic based on the life of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash & covers his struggle with his condition. Although the artistic license taken here makes it far more cinematic than required, the film nonetheless succeeds as a touching, entertaining & satisfying experience.
Based on the novel of the same name, the story of A Beautiful Mind begins in 1947 when the young John Nash arrives at Princeton University. Eccentric but brilliant, Nash graduates with flying colours, is hired by MIT but begins exhibiting troubling symptoms of a mental illness which in the long run affects not only his personal & professional life but also those around him.
Directed by Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind does many things right but purely as a biopic, it leaves out or alters the facts way too much for dramatic purposes. Also, Howard has always preferred to play the safe game, avoiding any bold risks & this film is no different. The technical aspects are finely carried out but where the film makes its biggest impression is in its performances.
Featuring a reliable cast in Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Martin Hansen & others, A Beautiful Mind is bolstered by strong & sincere emotional performances from its cast with Crowe & Connelly impressing the most in their respective roles of John Nash & his wife Alicia. Also adding more strength in little doses is its warm cinematography, steady pacing & James Horner's elegant score.
On an overall scale, A Beautiful Mind is a surprisingly moving cinema which despite being a bit manipulative remains highly entertaining & gripping from start to finish. Although the authenticity of its take on Nash's life & mental illness can be argued, its 135 minutes of story feels quite satisfying in the end. Definitely one of the best films of its year & certainly the one in the career of Crowe, Connelly & Howard.