A Beautiful Mind

"A Beautiful Mind" is an exceptional story, but it is only and exceptional film because of its director. Ron Howard does an amazing job of engaging his audience, introducing a brilliant main character, and making the audience experience the reality of mental illness. This could have been an unbelievable story to which very people could relate; however, the directorial mastery Howard exhibits throughout allows the audience to accompany Nash on his journey and awareness of his illness. Anyone who has been close to the frailties of the human mind will appreciate how respectfully and honestly this film approaches the subject. Howard is able to portray all the complex reactions to mental illness while maintaining the humanity and dignity of the patient. Superbly directed, wonderfully acted by Crowe and cast, this film succeeds on every level.

for some unknown reasons, i almost never liked crowe until i saw this movie. He played the role so beautifully and totally absorbed into being john nash rather that just a typical Hollywood actor. I bet he must have done his homework thousand times before finally bring it to the screen. The way he walks, the way he slide himself between the gate at the abandoned warehouse where he thought was a Russian secret movement operation center, the way he talks, in fact, everything, was portrayed perfectly that it actually concealed that very russell crowe that i never actually liked.

The movie was somehow close to me as my uncle, who was a genius,also suffered from schizophrenia, but passed away years ago. I cried when nash was seen sitting on his house balcony because i remembered that was how my uncle used to sit for hours, solving puzzles. the only difference is that, nash had all the chances and supports from peers and the society but my uncle never did. It was a shame.

Connelly was good as ever, and she had always seen carrying this type of role. Loving yet not so mushy, smart yet vulnerable at time.

Despites all the comments about the movie not being so realistic and not really based on the facts of Nash, i still think it deserves one the of the most beautiful movies i had ever watched.

I went along to the movies not really wanting to see this movie, thinking it was a 'girly' movie, one which had more technical skill rather than a storyline. I was surprised more than anything I could imagine.

I have seen a lot of movies in my time, but this movie just took me by storm. Its uniqueness, ironically enough because it was based on a real life situation was a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood blockbuster. This movie provided a brilliant (pardon the pun) insight into many aspects of a genius at work.

This movie touched me on many levels. The psychology of the movie was intriguing, the mathematical philosophies was actually realistic from my own experience, and the icing on the cake making the movie stand out was surprisingly the humanistic side of Love. While love is a common basis in most movies, the interaction of this theme with other aspects of the plot was planned phenomenlly.

As for the cast, I have never noticed the actual difference in skill between many actors/actresses before. I like Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise etc, but I wouldn't be able to pinpoint a classic actor's performance. But Russell Crowe in this film showed me what it was like to act in a way where I was in awe of his skill in playing this character, especially when considering the extreme difference from characters in his other movies such as the Gladiator and The Insider. Russell Crowe was one of the big reasons this movie was so brilliant. Added to that the stellar performances of Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris and Adam Goldberg, and this made for the 'perfect' movie.

A Beautiful Mind was by far the most original, intelligent and entertaining movie I have ever seen. And this from a movie I didn't expect big things from. Kudos to Ron Howard, the cast and the crew of this movie. It was truly worthy of the Oscar, and Russell Crowe was definately the most deserving of this production team to miss out on the highest accolade. Perhaps politics played a bigger part than I previously would have thought.

A poorly tailored trailer does not begin to describe what is one man's journey from the heaven of clear thought to the hell of schizophrenia.

Russell Crowe does an excellent role as John Nash, a mathematician who revolutionizes Group Theory, only to have his mind crash into confused and split views of the world.

Jennifer Connelly is superb as his wife. It is through her that we begin to understand the range of problems and pittfalls Nash is facing, most of his own devising. She deserves an Oscar, period.

The director has arranged beautiful 'red herrings' to kept viewers guessing and it works suprisingly well. Ron Howard's best work to date.

A beautiful movie to decribe a beautiful mind.

The more I watch Russell Crowe, the more I am becoming a big fan of his acting talent. Here again, he demonstrates his skills in a role that had me spellbound. Of course, mentally-ill people are usually fascinating. Look how popular the cable television show "Monk" has become.

Crowe's character, mathematician John Nash, is not nearly as eccentric as "Monk," but his schizophrenia makes for a fascinating portrait of a very troubled man. This is another of those Ron Howard based-on-a-true-story films, so don't take everything here as gospel truth....because it ain't so. (One example: in real life, Nash's wife was anything but as supportive as Jennifer Connelly was portrayed here.)

The first time I saw this film I was disappointed. Maybe I expected more, maybe I felt the story was unfair to the viewer and I felt like this was just one more attempt at Liberal Hollywood to make fun of those in the 1950s who were opposed to Communism. Well, on the second viewing, just a few weeks ago, I didn't have a problem with any of those things, just enjoying the performances and the classy-looking cinematography, thanks to one of the best cameramen in the business, Roger Deakins. I'm not always a fan of director Ron Howard, but his films are usually interesting and pleasing to the eye. He and Crowe seem to be a good pair, too, as witnessed by 2005's "Cinderella Man."

For those who enjoy a cerebral thriller, this is a very intriguing film. Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Josh Lucas and Anthony Rapp all deliver solid supporting help and, if you haven't seen this, this story will deliver a big surprise. If you know the ending, a second viewing is even more interesting as you trace Nash's actions from the beginning.