A Beautiful Mind - A Beautiful Movie

Rating: 9/10 (9 August 2002)

"A Beautiful Mind" took home four major Academy Awards for 2001. It deservedly won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay (Adaptation).
It is the story of John Nash who is a brilliant mathematician whose life becomes a nightmare when he descends into the scary and uncertain world of a paranoid schizophrenic. Producer Brian Grazer, Director Ron Howard and Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman show us the world of a schizophrenic from the patient's point of view as Nash's world alternates between reality and and imagined reality. The audience shares his suffering and also does not know what situations and /or characters are real or imagined.
Russell Crowe, in an outstanding performance, plays Nash with conviction and believability. Jennifer Connelly is his long-suffering wife Alicia who sticks with him and provides the support he so desperately needs. Christopher Plummer plays Dr. Rosen the psychiatrist who tries to help Nash. Ed Harris is excellent as Nash's contact in the Defence Department where Nash works de-coding hidden messages..or does he? Paul Bettany is Martin Hansen Nash's college roommate and Vivien Cardone his niece who Nash turns to for comfort. Adam Goldberg and Anthony Rapp are two of Nash's college classmates who he also meets from time to time over the years and who help Alicia in coping with Nash's behavior. Judd Hirsch plays Nash's college professor and watch for Roy Thinnes in a blink of an eye appearance as the Governor.
"A Beautiful Mind" is a beautiful movie, not for everyone, but a rare insight into the confusing world of a schizophrenic. A true classic.