SUMMARY

A BEAUTIFUL MIND is based on a book by Sylvia Nasar.  Akiva Goldsman’s screenplay adaptation deals with the brilliant Princeton mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr., his descent into madness and his attempt to will himself back to sanity.

 STEVE SAYS:

I had a tough time deciding whether or not to see this film.  Generally, when talk turns to mathematics, my brain has a tendency to shut down.  It’s an old habit, formed in Mr. Anterasian’s eighth grade Algebra I class and I haven’t shaken it to this day.  I knew there would be lots of “math talk” in this movie, since it’s the world that John Nash (Russell Crowe) inhabits.  However, no less an authority than my dentist told me that I had to see A BEAUTIFUL MIND.  Since I not only trust him as a man of taste, but also allow him to root around in my mouth with a steel-tipped drill, I decided not to offend him by ignoring his recommendation, so off we went.

The first hour of the movie is where most of the “math talk” is and predictably, I found myself counting the hairs on the head of the person in front of me.  Then the story began to take on added depth and layers and drew me in like iron filings to a magnet.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND is the story of a man driven insane by his own brilliance.  In Nash’s case, it wasn’t really much of a drive; more like a short putt.  It was clear from the first scene that he was already a couple of jets short of a squadron.  So the loosening of his grip on reality wasn’t much of a shocker.  But the form that Nash’s madness (paranoid schizophrenia) takes is what makes this a movie and not a PBS documentary.

Russell Crowe is a sure bet for another trip to the Oscars with his nuanced rendering of John Nash.  Of course, he is aided by the fact that the script throws him all of the trappings that Academy voters love; playing a “mentally challenged” (God, how I hate that phrase) man, grappling with a cornucopia of personal demons, and aging from twenty-two to seventy during the course of the movie.  But, to his credit, Crowe pulls off all that is demanded of him...in spades.   Those who know him only from his sword and sandal turn in GLADIATOR would do well to see what he does in A BEAUTIFUL MIND.  And while you’re at it, check out Crowe as an intense Aussie skinhead in ROMPER STOMPER, then as fifty-two year-old corporate whistle-blower Jeffrey Wiegand in Michael Mann’s THE INSIDER.  The fact is, his range as an actor is nothing short of astonishing.  He is part and parcel of a new breed of movie star; wielding solid chops as an actor to back up those matinee-idol looks. 

Jennifer Connelly first appeared on-screen at the age of thirteen in Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, playing Elizabeth McGovern as a child.  She has flirted with stardom ever since, but never quite caught the brass ring.  This could do the trick because there is very probably a Best Supporting Actress nomination lurking in Connelly’s immediate future.  Her portrayal of Alicia Nash, the woman who takes “stand by your man” to new heights, hits all the right notes.  This is the meatiest role Connelly has ever snagged and it just might make us forget that she once starred in a piece of bilge called CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, a film from a John Hughes script that was so bad, Hughes wisely gave it to someone else to direct.

Ron Howard’s direction is fluid and assured, (though he could have paced up the first hour of the movie by eliminating some of that doggone “math talk.”)  A personal note to Howard: Ron -- thanks so much for not doing what you usually do and casting your weird brother Clint in the movie.  I simply could not have bought into him as one of Nash’s Princeton math cronies.  There is something else, perhaps just a bit loftier, for which Ron Howard also deserves credit: he always reaches high.  Sometimes he fails and we get GUNG-HO or THE PAPER.  But more often than not, Ron Howard has been responsible for a long string of finely crafted films that stand taller than most of what’s out there on the American cinema landscape.

In case I have muddied the waters by digressing too much, (and I no doubt have) let me just say that this is a movie well worth seeing.  The next time Dr. Michael Goldberg, DDS, recommends a film, I’m going.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND gets four kernels and a dash of salt.

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PATTY SAYS:

I didn't think I'd be able to drag Steve to this movie without the assistance of the Budweiser Clydesdales.  Now that I know how easy he is under the influence of novocain, he's going to the dentist more often. 

The film could have used some ruthless editing well into the second act, but when it grabbed me,  I was hooked until the end credits rolled.

Say what you will about Russell Crow being a cad after his dalliance with Meg Ryan, but the guy can act.  He played the fine line between eccentricity and madness like he had spent most of his life there.  Nash's tormented effort to distinguish himself among the intellectually elite was excruciating to watch.  Crow's portrayal of Nash transcends the one dimensional math geek and renders him human.  You wouldn't want to date the guy, but you want him to succeed in his quest and get the girl in the process. 

Speaking of the girl, Jennifer Connelly had some great chemistry of her own in this film.  Sure, you wondered how such a beautiful, intelligent woman would put up with a guy whose attempt at romantic repartee is to ask her if she wants to exchange body fluids.  Connelly made me believe that she could look past the lack of social skills and respect Nash for his mind and his potential.  If the film is anywhere near an honest portrayal of the relationship between Dr. and Mrs. Nash, she has my vote for canonization just for sticking it out.  He was certainly a challenge.

It was good to see Judd Hirsch, even in a supporting role.  He's always been one of my favorites.  Otherwise, the supporting actors were solid but dwarfed by Crowe and Connelly.  The lead roles in this movie had great dialogue and very diverse characters.  Everybody else served to move the plot in the right direction but otherwise lacked distinction.

Hanging out as I do in a mental hospital five days a week, I can tell you that I had a hard time buying parts of the movie.  If I am more specific than that, I'll give too much away.  If you haven't seen the film and some schmuck wants to reveal the plot twists to you, stick both fingers in your ears and do the bla-bla-bla thing until you drone him out.  You need to see the film to appreciate the beauty of the script.  There were some nit picky little details that they got wrong but overall, it was well worth sitting through the slow start.

Okay Russell, I forgive you for Meg.  Just don't let it happen again.

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