It's true greatness shows up compared to A Beautiful Mind

Rating: 9/10 (29 August 2002)

I saw Shine twice when it first came out, and then watched it again on DVD after going to see A Beautiful Mind - and was immediately reminded how good it was. Not to criticize the brilliant acting by Russell Crowe, but the portrayal of mental illness in Shine is 100 times better than in A Beautiful Mind - the combination of a sharper script, a more imaginative and braver direction and a deeper intention produce a vastly superior movie.
Shine really does Shine - and despite the Oscars, it shows A Beautiful Mind to be pretty ordinary. Best of a bad crop, I guess... or perhaps more of a political than an artistic decision.