"A 'Beautiful' Movie"
by Scott Mantz

"A Beautiful Mind"
Russell Crowe,
Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris
Directed by Ron Howard

It all adds up! Russell Crowe plays a brilliant mathematician in "A Beautiful Mind"

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 an autistic savant. 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 xenophobe, 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 falls into 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, so it must have been interesting to witness their interaction behind the scenes.) 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 cliche-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 you 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" is a triumph of the cinematic spirit.

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