ABEAUTIFULMIND(2001)

　　ABeautifulMind'sgreatestachievement,inmyhumbleopinion,isthewayitmakesschizophreniaaccessibleto"sane"people.Thegeneralpublicknowsschizophrenicstendtotalktothemselves,repeatcertainactionsanddothingsgenerallyatoddswiththenorm.Butwhy?It'snearlyimpossiblefora"sane"individualtounderstandwhythishappens...andmoreimportantly,whatthatfeelslike.Withoutthisessentialempathy,manypeoplebecomefrustratedwiththementallyill,askingwhypatientscan'tpullthemselvestogetherandjustbearup.Weexpressthissameimpatiencewiththecriminallyinsanewhoactupondelusionswithdisastrousresults.Itisincomprehensible.

　　ABeautifulMinddoesallitcantochangethat,anditsucceeds.UnlessyouarefamiliarwithJohnNash'sstory,youprobablywon'tguesshe'sschizophrenicuntilpart-wayintothemovie.He'seccentric,abrupt,andhighlyintelligent,butdoesn'tseemcrazy.HisdelusionsareasrealasrealitytoNash,andlikewise,theyarerealtotheaudience,whocannottellthedifferencebetweentruthanddelusion.

　　Incidentally,Icameacrossareviewfroma"professionalcritic"whoblastedABeautifulMindforincluding"allthatspyingstuffthathadnothingtodowithNash'sworkthatwasthrowninforHollywoodthrill."Ifeelbadforthatchap,sincehemissedtheentirepointofthefilm.ButthatjustprovesRonHoward'sgeniusincreatingapictureofinsanityindistinguishablefromreality.

　　TherearesometrulyshockingmomentsinABeautifulMind.WhenAliciafindsherhusband'ssecretcacheofnewspaperclippingsbehindtheirhouse,IwaseerilyremindedofJackNicholson'swifeinTheShiningdiscoveringhisendless,typewrittenpagesofthesamephrase.Thescenethatfollows,culminatingwithNash'srealizationthathisdelusionsareindeedafalserealityisbrilliant.Inamoment,rememberingMarcee,Nashhasaflashofinsight,andhefinallyacceptshisillness--ironically,throughhisintellect.WhenNashimaginesthatsomeoneisgoingtoharmAlicia,helungesather--andonlythroughhiseyesdoweseehowaseeminglysenselessactofviolenceisagestureoflove,filteredthroughthesmogofdelusion.

　　Nowmytakeontheacting:Superbineverysenseoftheword.RussellCroweisincredible.Ican'tstressthatenough.There'sneveranyquestionabouttheauthenticityofhischaracter.Crowedoesn'trelyonhiselaboratemakeuptoageNash--hiswalk,words,andvoicedothatelegantlyinthemovie'send.CrowewillgetatleastanotherOscarnominationoutofthisone.And,hebetterwin.JenniferConnellyisamazingaswell.AndwhenCroweandConnellyareputtogether,extraordinarychemistryerupts,theyjustgeltogether,theyreallybelongwithoneanother.Somepeoplehavehadproblemswiththeromancepartofthemovie,sayingthatthewayJohnandAliciaevenstartedseeingeachotherwasn'tveryrealisticandwhyAliciawouldstaywithJohnafterhebecomesdistant.But,Ithinkthatmaybeitstartedoutasjustacrush,youknow,andthemathquestionsheshowedhimwasjustherexcuseforgoingtohisofficeandshealreadyknewshewasgoingtoaskhimoutbeforehand.Maybeshe'sjustattractedtothekindofpersonNashis?Whoknows?Alotofpeopleareattractedtothe"weirdest"thingssometimes.Thecrushtookoverthefactthathesortofinsultedherworkandshestillaskedhimanyway.Whenyou'rearoundsomeoneyoulikesomuchyoucan'thelpbu