A Beautiful Mind

A poorly tailored trailer does not begin to describe what is one man's journey from the heaven of clear thought to the hell of schizophrenia.

Russell Crowe does an excellent role as John Nash, a mathematician who revolutionizes Group Theory, only to have his mind crash into confused and split views of the world.

Jennifer Connelly is superb as his wife. It is through her that we begin to understand the range of problems and pittfalls Nash is facing, most of his own devising. She deserves an Oscar, period.

The director has arranged beautiful 'red herrings' to kept viewers guessing and it works suprisingly well. Ron Howard's best work to date.

A beautiful movie to decribe a beautiful mind.

"A Beautiful Mind" is an exceptional story, but it is only and exceptional film because of its director. Ron Howard does an amazing job of engaging his audience, introducing a brilliant main character, and making the audience experience the reality of mental illness. This could have been an unbelievable story to which very people could relate; however, the directorial mastery Howard exhibits throughout allows the audience to accompany Nash on his journey and awareness of his illness. Anyone who has been close to the frailties of the human mind will appreciate how respectfully and honestly this film approaches the subject. Howard is able to portray all the complex reactions to mental illness while maintaining the humanity and dignity of the patient. Superbly directed, wonderfully acted by Crowe and cast, this film succeeds on every level.

John Nash is something of a mathematical wizard. Constantly searching for something with which to make his name, he finds his calling by code breaking for the government. But with that comes a sense of paranoia and pretty soon John is sliding desperately into schizophrenia.

There is a school of thought that says any decent film about the mentally ill or afflicted is a sure fire way to attract the awards givers. Personally it bothers me that it bothers me that people view these films in this demeaning manner. If a story is worth telling then lets get it out there for all to see. Would the cinema world and all those stuffy film lovers really be happy if film makers didn't tell these remarkable stories? A Beautiful Mind is one such picture that divides opinions, although exemplary made and well put together, it doesn't adhere quite to the facts of Nash's life-it's an interpretation that smooths out the drama by way of delivering a safe and watchable biography. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning four for Best Film, Best Director {Ron Howard}, Best Supporting Actress {Jennifer Connelly} and Best Adapted Screenplay {Akiva Goldsman adapting from the book by Sylvia Nash}. Yet as great as that roll call is, the big surprise is the omission of a win for Russell Crowe in the Best Actor category. For as tidy and engrossing as the film is, and it is folks, it's because of the big Kiwi that the film breaks free of your standard emotional heart tugger. It's a superlative performance from Crowe and him not winning is probably more to do with his much publicised dust up at the BAFTAS a few weeks before the Oscar ceremony: than his undoubted acting ability.

The film as a whole should not be viewed as a representation of John Nash's life, many important things from Sylvia Nash's book have been omitted. But crucially it's important to note that in making this film, the makers have brought Nobel Prize winner Nash to the public's attention, whilst simultaneously giving awareness to the sadness of those suffering with schizophrenia. OK, so it's far from perfect in its portrayal of Nash the man, but ultimately the cinematic world is a far better place when the likes of A Beautiful Mind are being made and the film lovers are flocking to see it. And then some. 8/10

An excellent movie, and all the actors performed their roles perfectly, especially Russell Crowe, who presented the character of John in a great way, the story of the film was excellent and I did not expect the subject of illusions, the second half of the film was significantly better than the first half, I enjoyed watching the film and I recommend watching it

Ed Harris, Russel Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, and Paul Bettany were terrific.

The film had great balance and is worth a viewing.

The story boldly addresses mental illness as a handicap.

Because of the quality of the acting and directing, this movie is a beacon of hope for people of all disabilities. The film illustrates to the viewer how deeply a handicap can infiltrate the domestic, professional, and personal lives of those unfortunate to have these types of issues. I hope Ron Howard and the acting crew can get together again for something similar. This was a great film, that also serves an important role for awareness to people that might not understand how deeply debilitating these issues can be, and also gets the message across that not all should be marginalized.