A Beautiful Mind
Russell Crowe as John Forbes Nash Jr. gives a moving performance as a troubled genius. His acting in this film is great. A mathematical genius, he makes an astonishing discovery early on in his career and goes on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery, eventually triumphing over odds stacked against him.
Director Ron Howard has requested reviewers don't give the secrets of the film away, so as not to let the cat out of the bag before you see the film - fair enough. It is the sort of film that would fail to fully satisfy if you knew too much, so instead I'll focus on the fact that the suspense and tension in the film is really effective. It does offer a new insight into mental illness that is fresh and rewarding, and as much as it is a suspense drama, this film is also very uplifting.
I think, for what it's worth, it is a film that documents an aspect of a life we all know on some level. The disfunctional mind attempting to rise above the odds. Be it a person addicted to a drug or someone who has flights of fantasy that are beyond control, here, in the beautiful mind of John Forbes Nash Jr. we have a person at odds with themself and the world around them.
As his wife, Jennifer Connelly does a splendid job. She has some very difficult scenes to play, and does them well. Ed Harris, as ever - great. Gripping performances all around that really moved beyond what I've come to expect from an actor like Crowe. His work has at times struck me as, a little wooden while salivating; his tendancy to dribble during highly emotional moments such as in Gladiator set him apart from most big time actors who wouldn't be so real; salivating, dribbling, letting the nose run, all effective ways to expose emotion that make a strong image, very human, but over all I haven't found Crowe subtle at all until now. With this character he has hit the mark well, so if people thought he was good in Gladiator they'll find him deeper here. There are plenty of little things he does that make him appear to be putting full effort in. Mannerisms that could be just short of over doing it - once the major problem of the character has been exposed the mannerisms seem par for the course, subtle even.
No wonder notice has been taken of this performance - it does standout. With sinister political activity abundant during the 1950's and into the 1960's there is a sense of disturbance and caution in the air, even though in some ways it veers towards Boy's Own Adventure territory from time to time, the pay off is in the final scenes. I liked it so much I would see it again and imagine it would still have the same, if not deeper effect.
Review by David Jobling
Source: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~qstage/mind.html (with a search from google)