A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Losing control of your limbs is bad enough, but after seeing A Beautiful Mind it appears losing control of your mind if a far greater hell. Just imagine how painful it would be to have to doubt everything your mind and eyes tells you, in fear they might be another cruel figment of your imagination manifesting itself. Just imagine one minute you could feel that you are achieving your greatest dream or feeling that you have finally found meaning in your life, only to have the rug pulled from beneath your feet and faced with the heart wrenching reality, that everything you thought was true, real, yours, was merely an illusion? This is the unbearable problem that John Nash (Russell Crowe) soon learns will haunt him for the rest of his life. Going back to his first few days at Princeton; things didn’t start all too bad for Nash, his mind was his best friend and conjured up and solved the type of equations that would make Einstein scratch his head on until he had a bold patch. Admittedly his predilection for solitude and always being right meant he had very few friends and was considered the running joke of the campus. But Nash never minded because he knew he had a purpose, a calling that would undoubtedly cement his name in the history books for the rest of time. May it be watching pigeons pecking in the dirt, winning at a board game or helping his friends pick up girls at the pub; Nash was determined to find that one universal constant that would explain the randomness of the universe. However unfortunately Nash soon finds himself in a rut and unable to solve the big mysteries that perplex him and thus distancing him further away from completeness and attaining happiness. The years past and Nash finds himself working for the pentagon and courting a beautiful woman he teaches. Nevertheless Nash still feels he’s meant for bigger things and eventually graciously accepts a top secret assignment from a mysterious suited gentleman (Ed Harris) who claims to be working for the department of defense; accepting the man’s proposal effectively makes Nash a spy/code breaker for the American government. However bitterly, when Nash seems to be on the brink of achieving greatness, the world around him and everything he considers to be fact begins to cave in threaten to crush and destroy him. The special effects orchestrated when the audience enter Nash’s mind and we were allowed to see the geometric patterns floating in the air, or when Nash is thinking about something and we see a visual representation of his thought processes, was a piece of technical perfection and really enjoyable to watch. They also assimilated into the film really well and I felt that the shimmering ghostly presences of it all really captured the mysterious yet marvelous magic of how the mind works. Watching Russell Crowe play John Nash, was an absolute remarkable experiences that I wouldn't possibly want to exchange for the world. Not only did he embody a genius, but during the course of a Beautiful Mind I felt he demonstrated that he himself was a genius because he always used the perfect calculation of emotion and feeling in every scene. Like a master craftsman, Crowe constructed a multifaceted character that was so compelling on so many different levels. But it’s not just the Russell Crowe show, because one of Ron’s many notable gifts as a director is his affinity for attracting great actors for his films and A Beautiful Mind is a complete testament to this. The supporting cast were standing ovation worthy and if there was an Oscar for best ensemble acting, A Beautiful Mind would certainly have earned it. While Christopher Plummer, Ed Harris and the brilliant Paul Britney were herculean in the gravity of their performances, you can’t talk acting performances and not mention the sublime Jennifer Connelly, who demands as much plaudits as Crowe for her work in this film.