Rating: 
Summary: Unique and Compelling
Review: My high rating is based on the superior quality of acting, of course, but also on what I (a layman) view as an exceptionally effective dramatic visual presentation of schizophrenic paranoia. Characters which interact with Nash throughout the film accomplish for me what an expert's clinical (albeit patient) explanation never could. Given the number of people afflicted with this disease, especially those among them not as yet correctly diagnosed, much less properly treated, this film will serve commendable humanitarian purposes while at the same time providing superior entertainment. Ron Howard and all of his associates are to be commended for their unique and compelling cinematic achievement.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Piece of Art
Review: While "A Beautiful Mind" is a bibliography movie to some folks and a love one to some others, I view it as an art movie. It is a powerful story of mental struggle and spiritual triumph (or survival, or concession, depending on how you look at it). The three delusional images Nash has reflect three basic desires in one's real life --(Parcher) a grand mission toward the society and history that makes one feel self-important and competent, (Charles) a lifetime friendship that disregards the external society but comforts and encourages your innest soul, and (Marcy) a chance of giving and caring for the weaker and the
younger. These desires die hard. I found it extremely touching when Dr. Rosen said to Alicia (Mr. Nash's wife), "imagine ... they have been your best friends, now they are not dead, they are not gone, but worse, they have never been...", and when Nash told Alicia, "sometimes I really miss talking to him [Charles]". The fact that Nash has a loving wife from the very beginning and an academic recognition in the end actually made his transition to the "real world" much easier, as he satisfied some of the desires in an alternative way, imagine other schizophrenia patients who have nothing to hang on to in their "real world". The first half of the movie is wisely tricky, the second is exceptionally powerful, and the music is extraordinary.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Performances in an Otherwise Safe Film
Review: "A Beautiful Mind" has been the subject of much pre-Oscar controversy; some of the charges against this film are more valid than others. Critics have been coming out of the woodwork and accusing director Ron Howard of dodging some throny issues in his film biography of math wizard John Nash (accusations have ranged from Nash's alleged homosexuality to even anti-semitism). In addition, the casting of Jennifer Connelly as Nash's long suffering wife has provoked the wrath of some in the Latino community (Nash's wife is really from El Salvador). Regardless of the above, "A Beautiful Mind" is a good film on its own terms. Russell Crowe gives a powerhouse performance as the professor suffering with scizophrenia. This must have been a tricky role to play, but Crowe pulls it off without faking a single move. Jennifer Connelly was better in the far edgier "Requiem for a Dream," but she shines in her role as the long-suffering wife. Howard competently directs the film with feeling and at a reasonable pace, although the spotlight really belongs to Crowe. I wouldn't look to this film for hard facts on Nash, but nonetheless I recommend it on the strength of the film's stellar performances.
Rating:
Summary: Appreciate it for what it is, not what it might have been.
Review: Many people have complained that "A Beautiful Mind" isn't an accurate portrayal of schizophrenia - and, as far as I know, it isn't. Since I've never experienced it I wouldn't know what schizophrenic delusions DO look like, but if the movie accurately depicted them, average moviegoers would not want to watch it. This movie wasn't meant to be an informative drama about mental illnesses, it was just meant to be a MOVIE. Watched with this in mind, "A Beautiful Mind" is excellent, kept moving with the captivating acting, storyline, cinematography and music.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: This is one of those movies you see and want to immediately watch again, because you hate for it to be over. Russel Crowe did a superb job. I definantly want to add this movie to my collection.
Rating:
Summary: "It is brilliant"
Review: This is one of my favorit movies. It was wonderful,amazing,touching,and brilliant and the fact that it had happened in real life made the story 10 times better. I would recomende it to any one!
Rating: 
Summary: A Well-made Bad Movie
Review: Yes, Ron Howard is a heck of a director. And he's never better than in showing the difference between what's inside the mind of someone afflicted with schizophrenia, and the reality that everyone else sees. Even I, a practicing psychiatrist, was surprised to discover that Howard/Crowe/Nash had been leading me down a primrose path to hell. It's elegantly understated, very watchable, and completely accurate. But it may be the only accurate thing in the film, which is completely misleading.I haven't read Ms. Nasar's biography, which I understand is considerably more honest about Mr. Nash's life, so I do not blame her for this film. The film is completely misleading. Mental illness is not like a cold that randomly affects some of us, who then take better care of our health and it goes away. Hallucinations can not be willed away. Mr. Nash did not earn the Nobel Prize BECAUSE of some special creativity his disease gave him. He did not even earn it THROUGH his psychiatric symptoms; early in his disease, during (no doubt) a remission of his symptoms, the part of his brain not ravaged by the disease manifested it's greatness before schizophrenia made a mess of his life. That came later, and fortunately he got treatment for it. But the disease remains. I fear people will watch this film and think, "Wow, you can have schizophrenia and still win the Nobel Prize!" And that thought is an insult to the victims of schizophrenia. I include in those "victims" their family and friends, because their lives are devastated, too. If you want to learn what mental illness is like (and not just what great film making is like,) watch "Niagra, Niagra." This is a film that shows the hell that untreated mental disease becomes for everyone involved . . . not a trip to Oslo.
Rating:
Summary: A BEAUTIFUL MIND IN MADNESS
Review: For those of us who remember "The Andy Griffith Show", and were wondering what would become of the actor who played Opie--here he is. Ron Howard's directorial masterpiece is displayed here as he depicts the story of mathematical genius and Princeton University legend, John Nash. When John Nash arrives at Princeton in the 1940's he is granted, a little strange and eccentric and not always entirely friendly. But that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with him, does it? As he struggles to complete his rigorous courses in graduate school, he is accompanied by his loyal and literary-minded roommate, Chris Herman. When Nash manages to complete a revolutionary theory on economics, he is told that he is either extremely pretentious and supercilious or has changed the world of business transactions in an unimaginable fashion. Fortunately, for him, the latter proves to be true. Nash is given a position at the prestigious Wheeler Institute and teaching position at Princeton. It is here that he meets the beautiful, intelligent, and compassionate Alicia. As he cultivates a friendship and affinity with her, he is also astounded to be enlisted as a decoding expert for the CIA. The job is intense as John Nash realizes the consequences of what will happen if he fails (possible destruction of the US by the Russians) or gets caught. Yet his desire for love leads him to propose and marry Alicia, and for a while it seems that Nash has the life any intellectual would dream of. Yet his work becomes more and more constrictive and his mysterious boss regards his attachments and prospective family with contempt. Things close in on John Nash when he is giving a lecture at Harvard University. A psychiatrist approaches him and gives him an order to be taken to a psychiatric hospital. It is hear that his reality comes down around him with a crashing halt. As Nash gradually realizes the truth about his life and his illness (schizophrenia), he is forced to make some dramatic decisions about his life. The medication for schizophrenia at this time, had severe side-effects including drowsiness, sexual dysfunction, and withdrawal. Yet when Nash tries to dismiss his illness, his attempts prove gravely dangerous. It is only when he enlists his profound intelligence and the support of family and friends that he can learn to push aside his illness and regain his life. This was a spectacular movie! The portrayal of John Nash's delusions delude the audience as well. I had always thought of Russel Crowe as being kind of a diva, but he actually proved to do a very good job in this role. And relative-unknown Jennifer Connelly was perfect as Nash's adoring and loyal wife. The only problem with the movie is that if you dig beneath the surface, you realize that Nash was not exactly the tender, gushy-about-his-wife sweetheart that he was when he accepted the Nobel Prize. Rumors of adultery and arrogance have run rampant after this movie came out. Nevertheless, I think Ron Howard did right to leave these details out as he was trying to show the audience psychosis in a different light. Although it is long, this movie is very powerful and intensive in many of its scenes, particularly after Nash's initial hospitalization and diagnosis. I believe this is an important film that can counter-influence stereotypes brought on by the recent Andrea Yates case. I hope Hollywood decides to promote more movies of this genre.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Confused At First
Review: I didn't know what the hell was going on at first. I didn't know what to believe until I got to the end. I was wondering all through the movie "Is he crazy or not? The end had a magnificient ending proving that anyoone can overcome dissabilities and excel. I also liked the message that the wife sent to us movie goers and her message said to me to stand by the one you love, even if it may be tough. Go see the Movie. One Love.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy, yet not the best film of the year
Review: On the surface, "A Beautiful Mind" is a biopic of John Nash, one of America's great mathematicians. But that statement is misleading. "A Beautiful Mind" is not a film that paints a big, sweeping portrayal of the events of one man' life. Instead, in the way that Ed Harris did last year with "Pollock", Ron Howard gives the viewer a more personal look at the subject of the film. Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman don't take the easy route and merely dramatize everything that Nash accomplished, for that would really only be a two-hour way of saying "Won Nobel Prize for..." They let us get to know Nash as only those who were closest to him knew him, and most remarkably show us how his mind processed and who he was. John Nash (Russell Crowe) is a math student studying at Princeton College. His friends are studying and building on the works of what he considers to be "lesser mortals", while what he really wants to do is come up with a truly original idea. He spends his time alone, trying to find definitive patterns to everyday movements, games, etc. He gets encouragement from his roommate Charles (Paul Bettany), but I'll jump the gun a little and tell you this is where the trouble starts. Suddenly, he does find his original idea, and it is so revolutionary that he is given a grant to study/teach at MIT. There, he meets Alicia, a student of his that he has begun to court. The two get married a while later, but during this time, Alicia doesn't see that Nash is being plagued by delusions, one a CIA operative (Parcher, played by Ed Harris) who enlists him on a "top secret mission" to try and discover secret encoded messages in periodicals supposedly being sent out by Russian spies. His empty quest starts to devour him, as he dreams of the Russians coming after him and other secret forces closing in. Alicia begins to notice that something is definitely wrong, and starts to help her husband try and realize what is real and what isn't. "A Beautiful Mind" is a solid, powerful drama. I'll re-iterate that it doesn't tell us everything about John Nash, and sometimes that irked me. I admit I did not know much about John Nash's accomplishments, and going out, I wasn't in the least bit enlightened on that front. His supposedly breakthrough work on game theory goes relatively unexplained here, and that was one thing in the film that could have used a little tweaking. However, this is about the man, not the work. Many people have complained about the film's ignorance towards Nash's bisexuality, and I would have to disagree with them to an extent. There are moments in where bisexuality is most definitely hinted at. This would be more of a problem if the film was not so obviously trying to focus on Nash's paranoid schizophrenia, something that is portrayed magnificently. Akiva Goldsman has fashioned his screenplay in such a way that we are put in Nash's shoes, and then brought to see a more objective view. At first, we have little idea as to what Nash's delusions are, they all blend into reality seamlessly. Then, they start to get more outrageous, and when Nash's fears of these images start to be brought out into the public, we start to look at him from another viewpoint. However, we feel for him, because we have seen what he is going through, and we feel for those affected by him (especially Alicia) because he has become so out of touch with the world. This film is a prime example of what Russell Crowe can do when he's not out toga partying with Ridley Scott. He gives one of his best performances, portraying the schizophrenia without over-doing it or milking moments for their dramatic value. Another actor might immediately approach the subject grimly and teary-eyed, but Nash at first cannot realize what he is seeing does not exist, so why should he be afraid? Jennifer Connelly gives the other extraordinary performance in the film. Connelly has been one of the most under-appreciated and hardest working actresses in the business, and it is wonderful that she will now get the recognition she deserves for her powerful, passionate portrayal of Alicia Nash. "A Beautiful Mind" is compelling film that never stoops to endorse melodrama or over-acting. It doesn't get all the details of John Nash's life in, that much is true, but it doesn't need to. It has a purpose, and it executes it in magnificent form. It is a fine, intricately constructed vision of paranoid schizophrenia and a man who had the will to defeat it. And although skeptics will attack it until the cows come home, the truth is that "Mind" is beautiful.
|
