Enter the mind of a man trying to live his life, ‘A Beautiful Mind’
***** of 5
- February 21, 2003
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- Gregory Sirising, Features Editor
- Section: Features
Based on a true story, A Beautiful Mind takes a deep look into the life of John Forbes Nash, Jr. who is trying to overcome personal struggles of schizophrenia, later winning the Nobel Prize later in his life.
Nash, played by Russell Crowe, is a mathematical genius who is able to solve problems that have baffled the greatest minds for years.
Arriving at Princeton, Nash meets others who are far superior than he is. Determined to find his own original theory, he confines himself in his room with the friendship of his roommate Charles (Paul Bettany) to keep his sanity.
Nash later discovers a fault in a known theory and receives placement at the defense department at MIT, where he teaches the bright, young minds of tomorrow.
While at MIT, he meets two very important in his life: his future wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) and William Parcher (Ed Harris) who gives him a mission to crack codes for the government on the whereabouts of Russian bombs.
While at MIT, Nash becomes heavily involved in the job that Parcher has given him. The job basically consumes his entire life leaving his friends and wife worried about him.
Being diagnosed with schizophrenia, Nash must take over his own mind and realize what is real and what isn’t real. With the help of Alicia, he is able to continue living a normal life.
A few years after being diagnosed, Nash goes back to Princeton to educate the minds of tomorrow and ends up winning the Nobel Prize.
The movie is a very good one in my opinion. It takes a hard look into the mind of a delusional man and everything in his life that he thought was real and cared for. He makes a decision to overcome his illness on his own against the wishes of doctors.
A Beautiful Mind is directed by Ron Howard and has won Best Picture of the Year from the Academy Awards and also the American Film Industry.
The movie is also based on a book written by Sylvia Nasar with the screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman.
According to one reviewer’s comments about the movie, “A Beautiful Mind’s greatest achievement, in my humble opinion, is the way it makes schizophrenia accessible to ‘sane’ people.
The general public knows schizophrenics tend to talk to themselves, repeat certain actions and do things generally at odds with the norm. But why? It’s nearly impossible for a ‘sane’ individual to understand why this happens...and more importantly, what that feels like.”
The movie is a sad one at times, but the triumph over a personal struggle at all odds adds to the “happy” ending of the movie.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see a real life story about personal struggles and what one person can do to affect the life of another.
John Forbes Nash, Jr. would have never been able to survive without the love and patience of his wife. The movie shows this great interaction between the two in great detail.
After watching the movie, one can truly see why it was given the award for best picture of the year, beating out Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring.
For more information about this award-winning picture of for more information about the life of the real John Forbes Nash, Jr.. visit the official Web site at www.abeautifulmind.com.