A Beautiful Mind DVD > Reviews > A beautiful film

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	True insight into the life of a genius
Disadvantages:	None I know of .  .  .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Please do not read if you want to watch this film without knowing what happens - this review has spoilers! My explanation for this is that this is a true story - so well known in many circles anyway - & also it is impossible to really discuss the depth of this film without knowing what happens in it. I have to admit I had not heard anything about this film when I first saw it & so had no idea what to expect. I was amazed with what I saw & would certainly agree that part of my experience of this film was so good because I did not know the story. The trouble is, no matter how I try to work it out, I simply cannot find a way to talk about this film without giving away what happens. I hope all readers will understand…

I also hope you won't think me going 'off-topic' too much as I want to talk about personal experiences in this review - but I do feel it relates well to the film & may be something others can relate to. To me, to be able to relate to a film on this level & be so keen on talking about it, it must mean this film is something very special.

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The story

Russell Crowe plays John Nash, a young, highly intelligent man whose life changes drastically after attending University. Whilst he does not have a very active social life, he becomes good friends with his flat-mate, Charles (Paul Bettany). He works hard at University, determined to find some sort of recognition, but it takes longer than he expects…

Then he is approached by a government agency official & discovered as a genius that he requires to work for the agency decoding some sort of communications. Charles remains his longstanding friend, making a reappearance in his life to find out what has been happening. He confides in him as things at the agency become more stressful, but it still gets harder to cope with maintaining his secret & his normal life.

He meets & falls in love with Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), who becomes his loyal & devoted wife. However, their marriage is strained as his top secret work becomes increasingly dangerous & leaves him troubled. He sneaks out to deliver packages & spend time working on codes. Meanwhile Alicia becomes increasingly anxious about his state of mind until finally health professionals - psychiatrists - become involved. He is taken for treatment for schizophrenia.

It is here that he realises that there never was a government agency needing his help & worst of all, his friend, Charles (& a little niece) never existed. He struggles to accept this news for some time & although the treatment helps to make his hallucinatory characters disappear, this does not last as he cannot work properly. Behind his Alicia's back, he stops taking the tablets & has another relapse, causing him to almost hurt his wife. However, as he has time to recover & explain why he had stopped taking the medicine, he realises he must learn to overcome his illness by tackling irrational thoughts with reason. It is by no means easy - the 'friend' ridicules him when he tries to ignore him & the 'agent' persists by questioning his 'logic' that he does not exist.

Eventually, having battled with his illness & struggled to escape the holds of the 'secret agency', he begins to move on with his life, with the strong support of his wife, & goes on to teach mathematics to new students. He is then noticed for a discovery - in mathematics - of something he had been working on for year - & he is nominated for & wins the Nobel prize. As he gives his speech of acceptance, he looks into the eyes of his other half.. & tells the world how he overcame the obstacles in his life. Alicia deserves so much credit for this.

Mental health

I can't believe it took this film to show on television again for me to think to review it. I have never met anyone suffering from schizophrenia - I had no idea what the illness was really like, not even the symptoms, until I saw this film. I learnt more from this film than any textbook could tell me, because I saw first hand - a real human being coping with a brutal condition - not a brutal creature trying to learn to be human. I wanted to take the opportunity to point out the importance of a film like this, for not just schizophrenia but all mental illnesses, whatever their degree. It is my strong belief that a pure lack of real understanding is the underlying reason that the vast majority of people suffering from mental illness are ever isolated from society. In this film, there are suggestions throughout about the loneliness suffered by John. Of course I do not mean to ignore the fact his wife was there for him throughout - in fact this made her role all the more important. But the thing with mental illness is that, whether people would be willing to accept it or not, it is very hard for sufferers to fully connect when there is a constant fear of stigma. John is shown being mocked by some students, stared at by crowds when he suffers delusions & commenting on his troubles socialising - at one point, as he tries to learn to ignore the characters of his condition, he admits how much he misses talking to his old friend. I don't mean to suggest that loneliness causes schizophrenia or that schizophrenia always leads to loneliness - or did in those days - but that there is certainly a link between mental health problems & social life.

Having suffered from depression, I recall some friends that turned hostile towards me when I tried to talk to them about it. I also remember a number of people that were real nice about it, but then did not understand the illness well enough to know how badly I needed to know it was ok to be unwell. There may be readers who know what I mean & I'm sure most people do not think that an illness of any kind should be suffered alone. I'm not after sympathy, I'm fine now, but I have to admit I certainly remember feeling that alone.

Towards the end of the film, pretty much everyone seems to understand John's illness, but still see him as a valuable teacher, a genius & a person deserving respect. This film made me realise how hard it really can be for sufferers of all kinds of mental illness to cope with those feelings. We should never be dismissive of someone who might need our support - every person is a person, we all deserve respect - after-all, when you are talking to a person, you could be talking to a genius.

Acting

Those of you who have read my review on 'The Insider' will know I was pretty wowed by his performance. Well I saw this film before I originally saw the Gladiator - the film that made Russell Crowe memorable to me - but I have to say that despite the fact I did not, when I first saw this film, even know the name 'Russell Crowe', nor recognise him later on as having starred in 'A Beautiful Mind', this performance was one I would not forget. Russell Crowe makes a totally convincing genius, not to mention that he is brave to play the part of a sufferer of schizophrenia & does justice to this role.

Jennifer Connelly is an actress who, for me, never really stands out as an individual, yet she plays an excellent supporting role in films that could not easily be outdone by others. At one point, her character has an emotional outburst that could send you flying from your seat. She is strained with worry & despair watching her husband - as some may think - lose touch with reality.

The characters of John's imagination are all played quite well, particularly Charles, who comes across a casual, very typical student of the time, which emphasises the surprise when you realise he is simply not real. The agent was less realistic, but he was probably meant to be the first person that viewers become suspicious of. The characters as a whole play an essential role in this film in creating another 'reality'. For some time you, as the viewer, find yourself wondering who is & isn't real, even after seeing several people tell John 'this is real'. This puts you in the very position John must have been in - never really sure when he meets someone new, as he says at one point, whether that person is really there.

Graphics

There is not much to talk about in terms of graphics. As a type of drama, this is a 'real-life' kind of film so it is kept quite simple. Suffice it to say there is no difference in the appearance of characters of John's mind & real people. As I said above, this is essential to the impact of the film. The only slight divergence is that the agents, soldiers etc. have elaborate costumes of long, dark coats & hats (main agent in particular), which make them appear more sinister. The rooms where John did his 'decoding' are seen both from his perspective, as government buildings, offices etc. & from reality, when the doctor takes Alicia to see the places John disappeared off to & she discovers something frightening…

Soundtrack

I have to admit that for me, the music was very chick-flick style, which fits with the type of story this is, but only to an extent. It is filled with emotive instrumentals plus at one point when the 'secret agent' threatens to harm Alicia, some good suspense music. Generally, though, there is not much to comment about music-wise & that is not necessarily a bad thing as the film itself is no less powerful in its impact on viewers.

Overall

The incredible thing about this film is how well it puts you into the shoes of John Nash, so that you really see things & experience things the way he would. The frustration at feeling like even his wife is not supporting him, like he can trust no one & worst of all, everything he truly believes to be right & real could well not be.

I learnt a great deal about what Schizophrenia is really about & what the sufferers go through on a daily basis . To me, it is an illness that is too often misunderstood - as with all mental illnesses - this film gives an honest, real-life insight into what it is really like to live with the condition. There was a point in this film where I really felt it was hopeless for John, that he would fall apart & never have proper relationships or live a normal life because the illness is degenerative & incurable. I could not be more wrong. 'A beautiful mind' proves that with will power anything can be achieved against all odds. He did not just 'fall apart', his relationship with his wife is enviable by any standard & show true love & he went on to achieve great things.

This is a must-see film.