A Beautiful Mind - PG-13\nStarring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connely \nDirected by: Ron Howard\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nBeautiful Mind," directed by Ron Howard ("Apollo 13," "The Grinch") tells the true story of John Nash (Russell Crowe), as he goes from a fresh faced graduate student in mathematics at Princeton to the winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994.\nJohn Nash is a real life person, a gifted mathematician who in the 1950s developed a radical theory that would eventually change the way that modern economic theory would unfold. The brilliance of his theory earned him a Ph.D from Princeton, a teaching assignment at M.I.T. and a position with Wheeler Defense Labs. At Wheeler, he is approached by a shadowy government agent, Parcher (Ed Harris), who assigns Nash to a top-secret code breaking project against the Soviets. Nash is soon devoting all his time to this project, and all the cloak-and-dagger intrigue it entails. At the same time, he begins an awkward courting of Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), one of his students at M.I.T. The chemistry between Connelly and Crowe is really a joy to behold, and is easily one of the strongest points of the film.\nUnfortunately, for all his genius, Nash is also afflicted with the crippling mental condition of schizophrenia. The disease would have destroyed him were it not for the intervention of Alicia, now his wife. Committed to a mental hospital, the brilliant but delusional Nash must endure agonizing shock therapy as the doctors attempt to contain and control his condition.\nCrowe is thoroughly convincing as Nash and is a pleasure to watch, especially in the second two-thirds of the film, where the movie really hits its stride. Nash's attempts to get back into a normal routine are heart wrenching, and the relationship between Nash and his wife grows nicely, avoiding falling into cliché scenarios. It is here that the acting ability of both Connelly and Crowe truly shines as they both struggle with Nash's condition.\nRon Howard and the cast do an excellent job of taking the immensely complex life of John Nash and crafting a superior film out of it. But it should be noted that "A Beautiful Mind" is based on a book of the same name by author Sylvia Nasar, and that the book takes a much deeper look at the man that is John Nash. The film purposely left out elements in the novel that allude to the possibility of Nash's bisexuality, as well as some of the less appealing facets of his character. These omissions are understandable in order to make the film more palatable to the mass cinematic audience.\nBut, those seeking an in depth exploration of the character of John Nash would do well to read the novel.\nOverall, "A Beautiful Mind" is a film well worth the time of anyone seeking an enjoyable and interesting movie, and its quality bodes well for the rest of 2002.\n
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