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 Sometimes,
being a genius can have its drawbacks. Just ask Dustin Hoffman, whose
character in 1988's Rain Man had to balance being sharper than
a calculator with being autistic. Or better yet, ask Geoffrey Rush,
whose character in 1996's Shine had to overcome years of physical
and emotional abuse before he could be recognized as a master musician.
How appropriate then that both actors won Academy Awards for their
incredible performances!
Now it's Russell Crowe's turn...again. After already winning an
Oscar for last year's Gladiator, Crowe could conceivably
pull off what only Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy have done--winning
two Best Actor Academy Awards back-to-back. In A Beautiful Mind,
Crowe plays John Forbes Nash Jr., a brilliant mathematician who
rose above his life-long battle with schizophrenia to win a Nobel
Prize. It's based on a true story, and if the above examples are
any indication, the Academy clearly has a soft spot for triumph-over-tragedy
stories that have their basis in physical and emotional transformations.
As directed by Ron Howard, one of the most consistently bankable
filmmakers on the planet (at $260 million, last year's Dr. Seuss'
How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the highest grossing movie
of 2000), A Beautiful Mind is an artistic triumph that features
yet another remarkable performance from Russell Crowe. Even though
the equation turns into an emotionally manipulative tear-jerker
towards the end, the numbers still add up to an engaging, moving,
and inspirational film that will leave wintertime moviegoers feeling
all warm and fuzzy inside.
Upon his arrival at Princeton in 1947, John Nash (Russell Crowe)
was already something of a minor celebrity. Better known for his
arrogance than for his brilliance, Nash was clearly a loner, preferring
to ditch his classes in favor of camping out in the library to obsess
over his "original idea." When he finally finds it, he gains enormous
respect and eventually becomes a professor at MIT. Before long,
Nash is paid a visit by William Parcher (Ed Harris), a Defense Department
operative who secretly needs Nash's code-breaking abilities in order
to spy on the Russians. He eventually marries Alicia Larde (Jennifer
Connelly), one of his former students, but that doesn't stop the
pressures of living a dual lifestyle from threatening to shatter
his brilliance.
The big screen adaptation of A Beautiful Mind, based on Sylvia
Nassar's book of the same name, may cause some controversy for its
omission of key points in Nash's life--including some alleged homosexual
relationships--but the film is nevertheless a mature and totally
absorbing piece of work. Ron Howard, working off a deftly-written
screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, handles Nash's bout with mental illness
with extreme sensitivity, but he doesn't pull any punches with regards
to its severity. Though it's hard for Howard--much less any filmmaker--to
resist the temptation of sugar-coating the final act of the film,
the overall experience more than makes up for it's flaws. Also,
thanks to an interesting--but not totally unexpected--plot twist,
A Beautiful Mind turns out to be almost as complex as the
character that it portrays.
Without a doubt, the success of the film lies in the very capable
hands of Russell Crowe. For the third time in as many years (let's
forget about Proof of Life, shall we?), Crowe goes through
a remarkable transformation that all but dwarfs his brilliant turn
in 1999's The Insider (for which he should have won an Oscar).
Not only does he pull off playing the same character over the course
of almost 50 years (even if his accent is somewhat inconsistent),
but he also gives plenty of heart and soul to a character who is
by and large arrogant and unlikable.
Crowe also has incredible chemistry with Jennifer Connelly, who
puts in the performance of her career as Nash's incredibly supportive
wife. Connelly, a true beauty in every sense of the word, has curiously
avoided instantly commercial Hollywood fare in favor of more challenging
roles (just witness last year's disturbing Requiem for a Dream).
All that training seems to have paid off, as Connelly puts in a
strong, heartfelt performance in which she more than holds her own
against Crowe.
Kudos to the supporting cast, especially the always-reliable Ed
Harris, who brings an intimidating forcefulness to the government
enforcer who's always waiting in the shadows to take advantage of
Crowe's abilities. (On a side note, filming on A Beautiful Mind
began the day after Harris lost the Best Actor Oscar to Crowe at
last year's Academy Awards, which probably made for an interesting
first few days of shooting.) In addition, after miraculously stealing
the show from Aussie heartthrob Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale,
Paul Bettany once again goes over the top--but not too far over
the top--as Crowe's rambunctious, reckless, and animated best friend.
Despite a typically cliché-ridden final act, in addition to an abrupt
and jarring jump of almost 30 years, there's no doubt that A
Beautiful Mind is a beautiful movie. It also goes to show that
while getting over your problems might be a victory on one level,
it's how you handle those problems while they're actually happening
that defines the triumph of the human spirit. As far as Ron Howard
and Russell Crowe are concerned, A Beautiful Mind succeeds
on both counts.
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