by Chris Marshall:
A Beautiful Mind
is at times brilliant and at times schmaltzy, but it’s always interesting. I
think that might have more to do with the subject of the film himself rather
than Ron Howard’s directing, but either way, I like this movie, despite its
many imperfections. Even though I was frustrated with it on a number of
occasions, it was easy enough to overlook those flaws.
I first saw it over a decade ago shortly after reading the
book, written by Sylvia Nasar, which I also enjoyed immensely. The film is a
loose adaptation of the biography, which covers John Nash’s early life, work,
descent into madness, and recovery in much greater detail. I think Howard’s
decision to narrow the scope of the book was the correct one; schizophrenia is
difficult to portray on-screen, so using more tangible representations of Nash’s
hallucinations was the right call.
For the uninitiated, the film version of A Beautiful Mind is about John Nash, the
economist and mathematician responsible for many breakthroughs in game theory,
particularly what is now known as the Nash equilibrium. More specifically, it’s
about his struggles with schizophrenia and his eventual, near-miraculous
recovery, after which he is awarded the Nobel Prize in economics.
Most of what I know about game theory was learned from the
book, but it’s mentioned only in passing in the film. I understand why—I imagine
game theory is even more difficult than schizophrenia to discuss in a movie—but
at the same time, I was disappointed. I think the topic is fascinating. In
general, I have no issues with the subjects that were included and excluded in
the film, except for one. My favorite part of the book was when Nash turned
down a university appointment because of his obligations as the “Emperor of
Antarctica.” Surely the filmmakers could have found a way to include that gem.
Russell Crowe does a pretty good job as Nash, in a role that
couldn’t possibly be more different than his role as Maximus last year. Nash is
shown as a meek, timid West Virginian, an undeniable genius who even from the
start shows signs that he might be coming unhinged. The early scenes of the
movie take place during his graduate school days, where he seems rather
high-strung but not necessarily crazy. Of course, we later learn that not
everything was as it seemed.
Soon after becoming a professor, he falls in love with and
eventually marries one of his graduate students, Alicia, played by Jennifer
Connelly. Never mind that his real life wife was from El Salvador; I guess
having a West Virginia accent and a Latin American accent in one household
would be a bit much for the audience to handle.
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| Judd Hirsch again mentors a crazy person in a BP winner. |
Connelly’s Alicia seemed somehow out of place. It’s not the
quality of her acting that was the problem; it was that she looked like she
belonged to a different time. In a room full of flat tops, suspenders, and
pocket protectors, she appeared to be decades removed from her classmates, like
she had used a time machine to travel back to the 1950s to take Nash’s class.
And here’s another thing. They make a connection because she
comes up with an elegant, though incorrect, solution to an impossibly difficult
problem he presents to the class. Based on this, it would seem like she is a
gifted mathematician in her own right, especially considering that she was a
grad student at MIT in the first place. But after that moment in Nash’s office,
we never see her do anything academic again. She’s consigned to the role of his
long-suffering wife, doing nothing but birthin’ babies and taking care of the
house. I know this is the John Nash story, but wouldn’t it have made sense to
develop her a little more as an academic?
Instead, she settles into her role as the person who cries
about how crazy her husband has become. And he is crazy, no doubt about it. I don’t think the film is intended to
be scary, but many of the scenes do seem pretty creepy once you realize what’s
going on. Because really, how are the people who talk to him in his
hallucinations any different than ghosts? And isn’t it possible that people who
claim to have seen and interacted with ghosts have just a touch of
schizophrenia? That would be my first thought if I saw a spooky, spooky ghost
in my house. Well, you know, if I recovered enough from my terror to ever think
again.
Then again, Nash doesn’t conceive of his visions as ghosts.
They’re just people. People who never age and that only he can see. And they
never, ever leave him. Even in his later years, he just comes to accept they’re
not real, but that doesn’t mean they go away. I can’t imagine how terrifying
that must be.
This was the first Best Picture winner released after the
attacks of September 11, yet another testament to how far The Oscar Project has
come. Wings, which seems like a
lifetime ago, was released 14 years before the attack on Pearl Harbor. A Beautiful Mind was also, at least technically,
the first winner released in the 21st century. I’m not sure if that
has any broad significance, but it demonstrates that this film appeared at an
interesting point in history. It was the beginning of a new era, for better or
for worse.
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