A Beautiful Mind (The Awards Edition) Video

Average Rating:

Russell Crowe gives a simply fantastic portrayal of John Nash. The gestures and speech patterns ring true and would be praise-worthy in their own rite, but compared with his Academy Award-winning turn in "Gladiator" (2000) show the staggering range of this gifted actor. Nothing against Denzel Washington (also an actor of considerable talent), but I would have voted for Mr. Crowe in the Best Actor category for the 2001 Oscars.

In case anyone has not seen this film yet, I'll not give away its secrets (it has a couple that rival the one in "The Crying Game"), but I cannot recommend this film highly enough. Ron Howard, a truly formidable director, has made the film of his career that is both moving and thought-provoking.

Get this DVD. This is one to treasure.

However... did you know that John Nash was bisexual? That he divorced his wife in 1963 and fathered a child out of wedlock? That his son was also a schizophrenic and gifted mathematician, but spent most of his life in institutions?

It seems as if content and the true story of Nash's life was spared to keep a PG-13 rating and the voters of the Academy Awards feeling warm and fuzzy. Admittedly, though, this movie does a good job of doing what it's supposed to: making its viewers leave the theater happy and as if they just viewed a work of art about a man with a "beautiful mind," regardless of how inaccurately that mind was portrayed.

I liked this movie as a typical Hollywood movie, but not as a biopic of John Nash's life.

Russell Crowe amazed me as he delivered a very good performance as John Nash, a mentally disturbed mathematician genius at Princeton University. Jennifer Connelly reached her all time career peak as the woman Nash falls in love with and has to deal with her husbands problem. The movie is haunting, dark, funny at times, and very touching. I don't really know whether the movie dramatizes too much for movie purposes, but it sure unfolds very well. The makeup work is one of the highlights of the movie. Ed Harris is surprising in his role.

In no way is 'A Beautiful Mind' boring nor is it dumb. It sparks excellent performances and a beautiful character-actor picture.

Highly Recommended.

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