My Second Favourite Movie of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2004)

First off, let me get past commenting on those who derided the fact that the movie played fast and loose with the facts -- that it wasn't a documentary. Pfui! It wasn't presented as such. Okay, that's that.
*** SPOILERS ALERT *** (Stop reading now if you haven't seen the film)
I had a rough idea of the plot: a brilliant mathematician is brought down by schizophrenia. This had a special meaning to me, because I once heard a presentation by a man (let's call him Fred) who conquered his schizophrenia using the power of logic. Doctors told him it was impossible, and this is precisely what Doctor Rosen tells Nash. They may be right in most cases ... but not always. Nash did it, and so did Fred.
Yet I didn't truly understand Fred's accomplishment until I was slapped in the face by this movie. When Doctor Rosen reflects on what it's like to find out that people you know never even existed, I was struck hard by the brutality of the notion. From that point onwards in the film, I kept wondering, "What if you had to doubt absolutely everything?"
I was intrigued by the way that we're given hints that certain elements are delusion. My first big clue was the digital readout embedded in Nash's arm. It was an huge anachronism on the heels of some other less stark anachronisms. From that point onwards, I started wondering if Parcher was real, but I couldn't see how that was possible. And because I couldn't resolve the matter in a tidy way, I obtained a faint inkling of what Nash's affliction was like.
One scene that hit me hard was when Nash passes Charles' little girl on the steps after telling her he couldn't talk to her again. She holds open her arms for a hug, and he has to keep going. In that moment, I saw how tempting it could be to slide into the delusion. He also has to turn his back on the ideal buddy, and his Duty To Save The World!
I could go on and on, but I've only got 1000 characters. I expect you're wondering if I'll mention what my FIRST favourite movie is. It is "Talk Radio".