A Beautiful Mind

One beautiful mind; maintained by the love shared between two beautiful hearts. All I knew about this movie was Russel Crowe plays a savant. To be caught in one of the best portrayals of the power of love was a pleasant surprise. Put simply, this is a semi-fictional biography about a schizophrenic mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. that takes the genius to the background and brings the struggles (especially after the reveals in the middle of the story) to the fore. The lens is through John's eyes and mind, so whatever he experiences as real, we the audience believes it so, until the character John is made to understand what is real and what isn't. It takes expert level storytelling, character embodiments, acting, and dialogue to fool audiences. This movie fools audiences in its first half. And then afterwards, Jennifer Connely's Alicia Nash takes over. This middle act of the movie tells John's story through her struggles: dealing with the man she loves disappearing right in front of her eyes, the guilt when thoughts of leaving cross her mind, the dread of being hurt by him (or hurting him), deferring her desires to his wellbeing, and so on. You feel it all. And there really is no one to blame or take it all out on. A real marital kobayashi maru. They overcome. And that fills me with hope. I choose to keep faith that there are unions out there, in 2025, that are strong as this one. The gender divide in today's society has eaten so deep that it is not such a far-fetched statement to make if I said John and Alicia's story here is too romantic to be true today. And yet, they existed, John and Alicia. I love that Ron Howard kept the production simple and undistracting. It kept us invested in the characters, in their motivations and reactions. The score too was Lord-of-the-Rings-esque a lot of times. It helped. If it isn't obvious yet, I loved this one, and I believe the message is to not stand in the way of love. The reward of such self-sacrificial patience and steadfastness comes often by simply being seen. Your efforts, cherished, as one cherishes the breaths they draw. 5/5 Movies I’ve Reviewed - Ranked