Follows the tradition of the mental illness genre but Russell Crowe elevates the film to a new level

Rating: 9/10 (16 April 2002)

An ordinary mental illness genre film would have dissolved into the typical paint by numbers rule in which the lead actor adequately performs his role and his problems are understood only by the audience. A Beautiful Mind follows the rule that only the audience and his wife can sympathize with the mental patient but it develops into something more because of the difficulty and depth of Russell Crowe's performance. Do you remember the small but poignant scene where John Nash attempted to hold his newborn son in the rocking chair? It was a simple scene that wouldn't be difficult for an actor but the facial expressions and look of pain in Crowe's eyes elevated it to a new level. Say what you want about Crowe and his real-life shenanigans but be open to the idea that liking him as an actor should be more about how he performs in his roles and less about condemnation of his bad-boy persona.
It is a shame that Crowe performed better this year than the always dependable and Oscar-deserving Denzel Washington (He should have won for Malcolm X in 1992) and became virtually the only nominee from A Beautiful Mind who lost the chance to grace the podium. After all, Jennifer Connelly simply played the conventional role of the young wife who understands but has difficulty dealing with her husband's condition. Connelly fared better in the little-seen but unforgettable film Requiem for a Dream. Ron Howard's directorial award was somewhat overblown when you realize that Robert Altman had to skillfully handle 20+ speaking parts in Gosford Park and he did it wonderfully without breaking a sweat. And perhaps it's just me but can anyone else not forget that Ron Howard once direct Elijah Wood in that pathetic movie North?
A Beautiful Mind is the kind of film that you'll remember 20 years down the road but less for the conventional plot and more for what Russell Crowe brought to the role. The comparison to Rain Man is justified here because that was a movie where your likely to forget the road trip shared by Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) and his brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) and more likely to remember how Dustin Hoffman had to have maple syrup with his pancakes and only wore K-Mart underwear. Rain Man also lacked a viable plot but movies within the mental patient genre are not meant to focus on plots but on patients. In that sense the so-called boring storyline of A Beautiful Mind is forgivable because much more beautiful than the Nash speech at the end is the way that Russell Crowe's eyes express the feelings that his mouth cannot speak.
9/10 (The best performance by an actor since Denzel Washington in Malcolm X)