Biopic of the famed mathematician John Nash and his lifelong struggles with his mental health. Nash enrolled as a graduate student at Princeton in 1948 and almost immediately stood out as an odd duck. He devoted himself to finding something unique, a mathematical theorem that would be completely original. He kept to himself for the most part and while he went out for drinks with other students, he spends a lot of time with his roommate, Charles, who eventually becomes his best friend. John is soon a professor at MIT where he meets and eventually married a graduate student, Alicia. Over time however John begins to lose his grip on reality, eventually being institutionalized diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the depths of his imaginary world are revealed, Nash withdraws from society and it's not until the 1970s that he makes his first foray back into the world of academics, gradually returning to research and teaching. In 1994, John Nash was awarded the Nobel prize in Economics.
Written by garykmcd
According to a 2001 Entertainment Weekly article on this film, the filmmakers originally wanted to mention John Nash's homosexuality, but they feared the film would make the wrong connection between homosexuality and schizophrenia, so they abandoned it. This connection, according to the article, was based on several now-discredited psychological studies that first appeared in the late 1950s.
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Goofs
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
Contrary to what the Nobel representative claims, "the Sveriges Riksbank prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel" is not privately funded. It is financed by the Swedish state bank. (The five "genuine" Nobel prizes are funded by the legacy of Alfred Nobel.)
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Quotes
[first lines]
Helinger:
Mathematicians won the war. Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes... and built the A-bomb. Mathematicians... like you. The stated goal of the Soviets is global Communism. In medicine or economics, in technology or space, battle lines are being drawn... See more »
"Columba aspexit"
Written by Hildegard von Bingen (as Hildegard of Bingen) Performed by Emma Kirkby, Gothic Voices Edited and Directed by Christopher Page Courtesy of Hyperion Records Limited, London, England
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