Where to Watch:
9/10
FilmFascination Rating
I think there are some movies that you should go into without any knowledge about. The experience one might have would be completely different if you go into it without knowing what it is about. ‘A Beautiful Mind’ is one of them. So if by any chance you have no idea about John Nash, his real life and the title of the movie is the only thing you are aware of, then don’t go any further into reading this review. Above everything I want you to experience this movie for what it truly has to offer, and I don’t want to rob that experience of you. I just have one suggestion – this is a one-time watch movie. Enjoy it well the first time.
.
.
.
I hope the people I mentioned have left and are watching the movie now.
‘A Beautiful Mind’ is based on the true story of Nobel Prize Winner John Nash whose brilliant mind starts to deceive him by imagining things that aren’t real. Now he needs to solve this problem before he harms the people, he loves the most. There is this beautiful dialogue that describes Nash’s condition perfectly – “Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be?”. This single statement best describes how the movie so beautifully manages to cover this complex condition.
But the great thing is that for a first-time viewer, the movie in the first half, never even tries to indicate anything about mental illness. That all the more adds to the suspense and thrill of realizing that the characters you were so used to watching do not even exist. That was a good twist. But no matter what anyone says, if it wasn’t for Russell Crowe, I don’t think this movie would have ended up on this list.
He is a phenomenal actor, and words just won’t be enough to tell how perfect he is in the film. His eyes wandering, the little head movements, the way he talks taking small breaks and the style with which he walks. I am not sure if John Nash was really like that but Crowe definitely convinced me that he was. Along with him was Jennifer Connelly who did a very good job as well. Her light gaze is enough to melt into her beauty. They have chemistry, but most importantly, they create a close relationship to support each other. That creates the necessary warmth between them. I am just surprised that Crowe did not win the best actor Oscar for this one, because he definitely deserved one. This is probably his best performance I have seen.
But for me, besides the obvious great acting and cinematography, it is the fact that this depicts the life of such a great mind of our generation that connected me and moved me. Nash’s papers have been landmarks in their fields and it just so fascinating to see so much about his personal life and struggles. And that, in my opinion, is the whole purpose of the movie. To share Nash’s story with people who aren’t aware of what he went through. And it serves its purpose well. There is just no way that the ending sentence – ‘The Nobel Prize winner John Forbes Nash Jr. still teaches at Princeton and walks to campus every day.’ won’t make you a little emotional after you see his struggles alongside him.
Even the hair, makeup, and clothes need to be mentioned in this film. It isn’t often that they stand out in films, but in this one they do. This film moves around several decades and the clothes match perfectly around each one. In fact, if you compare the real John Nash pictures with Crowe’s appearance in the film, you can see striking similarities.
Overall the movie is just very well balanced. It does everything well, yet not overpowering just one of the sectors. It isn’t like any other biopic movies. This one takes the storyline and executes it very well without boring us with too much details. Most biopics aren’t for the mass audience, but this one would please almost everyone. Sure there were controversies that some important parts of Nash’s life were omitted from the movie. That is considerable for people who focus on getting the tiniest detail right. But from the movie perspective, it does everything well. It is thrilling, romantic, funny at times, and also heart-warming.
But still like I said before – this is a one-time watch movie. I did not enjoy it as much as I did the first time when I watched it again. The fact that his condition wasn’t known to me the first time made me wonder what exactly was happening. Are the Russians really after Nash? What are the patterns he is looking for in the newspaper? Is he in danger? Hence I did not want first time viewers to know the fact that Nash was schizophrenic. That little fact could change the entire way in which you perceive the film.
Join the FilmFascination Club!
All the updates right in your Inbox! (We will never spam you with junk mails)
You will get a message on the top of the form once your subscription is successful.