A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind springs from a fascinating, but seemingly uncinematic idea.  What would happen if a truly brilliant man, who essentially lives inside his own mind, finds that his cherished reason is failing him?   It is loosely based on the life of Nobel Prize winning Princeton physicist John Nash. 

What is amazing is how truly touching this mostly internal story has been made.  Particularly when you consider that much of the action onscreen turns out to be inside a schizophrenic's brain.  

A Beautiful Mind was obviously made as a showcase for recent Best Actor Russell Crowe, and while he does very good work in showing Nash's unraveling, the true heart and soul of the film belongs to Jennifer Connelly as his wife Alicia.  She is truly heartbreaking as a woman trying desperately to recognize the man she loves as he spirals deeper into delusion and paranoia. 

Connelly has long been overlooked as an actress in small, quirky, arty films (Requiem for a Dream, Pollack, Waking the Dead) but her occasional shots at stardom (Labyrinth, The Rocketeer) have always been box office disappointments.  Her work in A Beautiful Mind is of Academy Award caliber and will hopefully finally break her into the big time.  (12/01)

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright © 2001 PopEntertainment.com All rights reserved. Posted: December 6, 2001.