A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Starring:
Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany and Christopher
Plummer
Director: Ron Howard
Running Time: 135 mins
Certificate: 12
Available to buy on DVD 7th October
In 1947, John Forbes Nash (Crowe) wanted to make his mark at Princeton by coming up with a truly original idea. Forgoing the trappings of Lectures, writing papers and getting anything published he spent all his time concentrating on his equations. When it comes to him that years of economic theory are totally wrong, he is heralded as a man of genius and promptly offered a place at the Department of Defence research facility at MIT. Here he meets William Parcher (Harris) who gives him a top-secret assignment to crack Russian codes. After a run in with counter-intelligence forces, Nash becomes paranoid that he is been watched whereever he goes. The problem is that he can't tell anyone what he is doing and why he is so scared as the work he is doing is classified. As his paranoia gets worst, his wife Alicia (Connelly) and his colleagues start to question if his fear is real or is all in his head.
Ron Howard is a director you can rely on to bring interesting stories the screen. As he did with Apollo 13 he again chooses to dramatise a set of real life characters and the challenge life has thrown at them and he does it very well. John Forbes Nash's fall from genius to madness is a touching and tragic look into the horrible mental decease, schizophrenia. The problem is that the movie just comes across as a vehicle to win awards.
Yes the performances are very good. Russell Crowe proves again that he is one of the most versatile character actors in the business and makes Nash's fall into madness extremely believable. The support is also good from Paul Bettany, Ed Harris and the very underrated Jennifer Connelly.
The main problem is that the story seems to have been made in the very typical Hollywood mould by only telling you what they think you need to know and staying way from anything remotely controversial. There is no mention of Nash's bi-sexuality, that he and Alicia had a baby outside of wedlock (something that was frowned up in those days) and that they divorced and later remarried after he won the Noble Prize in 1994. It is made out that Alicia was the perfect wife and an object of both sympathy and bravely in the way she helped Nash cope with his decease when in real life she couldn't deal with it. These facts take away a lot of the authenticity of the movie and make it just seem like an attempt pull the heartstrings for award panels.
It is still a very watchable film however, and a good insight into how mental illness can even affect a person of extreme intelligence. It is just a shame that it wasn't more truthful are daring in it's approach by using a little less of the Hollywood feel-good glitter.
2 Disc Special edition: - Audio commentary from director Ron Howard and writer Akiva Goldsman, Deleted scenes (with optional director's audio commentary), 'A Beautiful Partnership' featurette, 'Development Of The Screenplay' featurette, Meeting John Nash, Casting: Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, John Nash's Nobel prize-winning theory and acceptance speech, 'The Process Of Age Pregression': hosted by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Creation of the special effects, Scoring the film, Inside 'A Beautiful Mind', Academy Awards footage, Original theatrical trailer, TV spot, Interactive menu, Dolby Digital (5.1) & Scene access
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