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.

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.

The more I watch Russell Crowe, the more I am becoming a big fan of his acting talent. Here again, he demonstrates his skills in a role that had me spellbound. Of course, mentally-ill people are usually fascinating. Look how popular the cable television show "Monk" has become.

Crowe's character, mathematician John Nash, is not nearly as eccentric as "Monk," but his schizophrenia makes for a fascinating portrait of a very troubled man. This is another of those Ron Howard based-on-a-true-story films, so don't take everything here as gospel truth....because it ain't so. (One example: in real life, Nash's wife was anything but as supportive as Jennifer Connelly was portrayed here.)

The first time I saw this film I was disappointed. Maybe I expected more, maybe I felt the story was unfair to the viewer and I felt like this was just one more attempt at Liberal Hollywood to make fun of those in the 1950s who were opposed to Communism. Well, on the second viewing, just a few weeks ago, I didn't have a problem with any of those things, just enjoying the performances and the classy-looking cinematography, thanks to one of the best cameramen in the business, Roger Deakins. I'm not always a fan of director Ron Howard, but his films are usually interesting and pleasing to the eye. He and Crowe seem to be a good pair, too, as witnessed by 2005's "Cinderella Man."

For those who enjoy a cerebral thriller, this is a very intriguing film. Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Josh Lucas and Anthony Rapp all deliver solid supporting help and, if you haven't seen this, this story will deliver a big surprise. If you know the ending, a second viewing is even more interesting as you trace Nash's actions from the beginning.

for some unknown reasons, i almost never liked crowe until i saw this movie. He played the role so beautifully and totally absorbed into being john nash rather that just a typical Hollywood actor. I bet he must have done his homework thousand times before finally bring it to the screen. The way he walks, the way he slide himself between the gate at the abandoned warehouse where he thought was a Russian secret movement operation center, the way he talks, in fact, everything, was portrayed perfectly that it actually concealed that very russell crowe that i never actually liked.

The movie was somehow close to me as my uncle, who was a genius,also suffered from schizophrenia, but passed away years ago. I cried when nash was seen sitting on his house balcony because i remembered that was how my uncle used to sit for hours, solving puzzles. the only difference is that, nash had all the chances and supports from peers and the society but my uncle never did. It was a shame.

Connelly was good as ever, and she had always seen carrying this type of role. Loving yet not so mushy, smart yet vulnerable at time.

Despites all the comments about the movie not being so realistic and not really based on the facts of Nash, i still think it deserves one the of the most beautiful movies i had ever watched.