A Beautiful Mind

[David Meek]

We saw this movie this weekend with friends. A very touching, very well thought out, very well acted story. It's most definitely not what you've seen from Russell Crowe before. No guns, swords, badges (okay, one badge)... or mayhem. Well some mayhem but pretty much only in his character's mind. He portrays John Nash, one of this century's more brilliant mathematical minds. I don't want to go into the story in case you haven't seen it, but Jennifer Connelly is excellent as his long-suffering wife and Ed Harris is also in fine character as the shady government agent. His college roomate and the roomy's niece are two of the more remarkable acquaintances you'll ever see. If you are looking for a good dialog-and-story-driven film, then by all means catch this one.

One the technical side, the filmwork is clean, the colors are a bit understated, and IMHO the imagery is framed quite properly for the story. Watching Nash and his wife age from their college days to their latter years is a special effects challenge that is handled well.

On a true-life note, the James Nash in the movie is a very sympathetic character with some obvious deep-rooted problems. However, the actual James Nash is a bit less of a likeable character for the early and middle portions of his life. A little of the ol' Hollywood cleanup as it were.

Regardless, I give this movie a solid A. Well worth the effort.




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[George Bellefontaine]

I'd love to see Ron Howard get an Oscar for directing this film.




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[Patrick Sun]

I enjoyed this film and the performances of the principals, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, and the supporting cast as well.

The director, Ron Howard, had two stories he could tell, and he decided to tell the one of perservance, and not necessarily of brilliance. For that choice, as well as the screenplay, he was able to pull off the feat of getting inside John Nash's mind and showing the audience the daily struggles of his condition with schizophrenia, how it impacted his life, his work, and his relationship with his wife, Elisha, and how his struggles have gone on for the past 50 odds years as he battled his inner demons constantly while regaining the capacity to becoming productive again.

Though it was a long film, it didn't seem like 2.5 hours long. There aren't any truly awkward sections that drag down the story, so I'd say it flowed well enough to maintain impact of Nash's condition throughout the film.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.




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