A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers (WGA):

Akiva Goldsman (written by)
Sylvia Nasar (book)

Release Date:

4 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

The Only Thing Greater Than the Power of the Mind is the Courage of the Heart

Plot:

After a brilliant but asocial mathematician accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn to the nightmarish.

Plot Keywords:

Nobel Prize | School | Princeton | Student | Mathematician

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 27 wins & 49 nominations

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	John Nash
Ed Harris	...	Parcher
Jennifer Connelly	...	Alicia Nash
Christopher Plummer	...	Dr. Rosen
Paul Bettany	...	Charles
Adam Goldberg	...	Sol
Josh Lucas	...	Hansen
Anthony Rapp	...	Bender
Jason Gray-Stanford	...	Ainsley
Judd Hirsch	...	Helinger
Austin Pendleton	...	Thomas King
Vivien Cardone	...	Marcee
Jillie Simon	...	Bar Co-Ed (as Jill M. Simon)
Victor Steinbach	...	Professor Horner
Tanya Clarke	...	Becky

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, sexual content and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Alberta) | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38595) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Barnard College professor Dave Bayer served as the math advisor on the film, and also was Russell Crowe's hand double for the scenes where he is writing equations on windows, etc.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the 1950s, Alicia is shown in her kitchen with a Tupperware Wonderlier covered bowl that wasn't available until the 1970s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Helinger: Mathematicians won the war. Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes... and built the A-bomb. Mathematicians... like you. The stated goal of the Soviets is global Communism. In medicine or economics, in technology or space, battle lines are being drawn...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "HBO First Look: The Making of 'American Gangster' (#14.27)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331

A Beautiful Movie

I think its a good idea to know as little as possible about this movie before seeing it. Now that I've seen it, the commercials on television seem to be giving away too much. With that in mind DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!

Its a hard movie to pinpoint. Its not like any other movie I've ever seen, in that a character exists that is not real. John Nash's mind is the reality of the movie and its not until the movie is half over that you realize this and its jarring that you've been taken on a ride with this man's illness, and accepted it as the real world. Its also a very heartbreaking thing.

From the middle point, John and you see the world differently because he starts to receive treatment.

Russell Crowe does not overdo it for a minute and turns in his customary brilliant performance. Would not surprise me at all if he were to win his second Best Actor Oscar in March 2002. He really is that good.

Just as good but with less screen time is the beautiful and beautifully talent Jennifer Connelly, who the world may finally get to see in a mainstream movie. Her chemistry with Crowe is vital to the movie and neither of them disappoint the audience at all in that respect.

I enjoyed it immensely and felt like I had seen a movie when it was over. I was shown a person at their best and the worse and everything in between, by a masterful actor at the top of his game.

I am sure Ron Howard deserves a lot of credit that he won't get, too.