Brilliant job, especially by Crowe

Rating: Null/10 (12 September 2004)

I saw a Russell Crowe movie this afternoon (one that he'd probably like to forget) and was reminded I never got around to commenting on this stellar work of art. I wouldn't know Crowe from Adam, but that helped because he BECAME the character John Nash for me. This might have been harder with an actor who was familiar to me.
I can identify with a man who was intelligent but had trouble fitting in socially in college. I was not brilliant and could have never achieved all that he did, but I have some understanding of this man's character. I thought the actor playing John's college roommate did a great job--especially later. And his little girl was adorable. Jennifer Connolly showed a lot of determination as Nash's wife, who had to deal with more than many spouses who give up. But she didn't.
SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!!!!!!!!
But I found this movie very strange. I had heard that this was a man who had schizophrenia, but he seemed fairly normal. Anyone would be driven crazy by the type of work Nash was doing for the government, by the paranoia that resulted from the Soviet attempts to dominate the world, and our need to be ever vigilant. He had to see everything--and I mean everything--that could possibly indicate an attack was coming. Who wouldn't go crazy, with all this information to analyze and the remarkable ability to see patterns in everything? Only ... IT WASN'T TRUE. I was very surprised to learn the secret government work was his imagination, and that he never had a roommate. I might have watched the movie in a different way, if only I had known.
And Nash's recovery was nothing short of amazing. Of course he went through the same ups and downs that most people would with this sort of illness. But he was determined to lick it, and he even learned to ignore his old college roommate and the man's imaginary daughter who were constantly following him. That part was really something to see.
Too bad it was finally Denzel Washington's year. But I have yet to see 'Training Day', so who knows? Crowe's will be a hard performance to beat.