Jeff Davis | Vent Section Manager

2/01/02

Any doubts about Russell Crowe's ("The Insider," "Gladiator") acting abilities can be cast out the window now. One may think a movie about a schizophrenic mathematician would be something you'd pass up right away. With other characters making Crowe's John Forbes Nash, Jr. more believable and the most delicate strings of Nash's genius stretching the duration of the film, not only is Crowe's own genius affirmed but the four Globes the movie snatched are quite well-deserved.

The movie, based on the biography by Sylvia Nasar, explores the ramifications Nash's theories on equilibrium bring to him and everyone around him. Nash stumbles onto a 150-year-old theory that needs revising, what the trailers and his professor played by Judd Hirsch ("Independence Day") call his "original idea." His results invite the attention of Parcher, portrayed by Ed Harris ("The Rock," "Absolute Power"), the complete embodiment of anti-pinko forces in mid-fifties America. Just listen to the way Harris says "bomb."

Parcher recruits Nash to scan periodicals for codes and turn them in. This repeated process leads Nash to a series of startling revelations that bring him to a troubling catharsis but ultimately lead to his reception of the Nobel Prize. There are several plot twists in the movie that are so cleverly hidden I won't even clue you in on what they are.

Jennifer Connelly ("Labyrinth," "Dark City") is radiant as usual as she plays Alicia, one of Nash's students and eventually his wife who stays with him for the duration of the story. In reality, Alicia divorced Nash during the most tumultuous periods in his life but the couple in fact remarried very recently.

The verbatim truth might not have worked out so well for Ron Howard, who can also be removed from the doubt-list for his knack for story telling. His career has been plagued with some cheese but "A Beautiful Mind" will silence the skeptics. The viewer, once inside Nash's head, still doesn't know what to expect but can anticipate Nash’s reactions to his environment and his disease. While the ending is not entirely true to the actual story it is beautifully constructed. The only tragedy is the poor make-up job on an elderly Alicia.

Other characters of note are Nash's college chum Charles Herman, played by Paul Bettany. Bettany played Geoffrey Chaucer in "A Knight's Tale" and was the only convincing actor in that entire film. Charles is a jovial English major with drinking habits Martin Luther would blush at. His character stays with Nash throughout the film as well.

It is such dedication to Nash as not just a genius but as a sociable and lovable person that carry Crowe's character to triumph in the end. The movie comes at a time when miracles are few and far between. Look no further than this film if you want to "believe something extraordinary is possible."