Review of A Beautiful Mind (2001) by Torion O — 23 Nov 2015

It's often been asked whether or not great men can also be good people, since recognised geniuses are often known to be difficult, temperamental or just plain horrible. A Beautiful Mind attempts to address this by examining the life of one such genius.

The film sees Russell Crowe at his best, trying to get under the skill of brilliant but troubled Nobel Prize winner John Nash. Crowe truly inhabits the role, nailing the movements, looks and speech patterns of a person under the constant strain of trying to understand the most basic of human behaviours and interactions, analysing them rather than simply feeling them.

It has plenty of great moments, some interesting insights into mental illness, and is often quite moving. Its most resounding drawback is just how sanitised it is. The real Nash was far less pleasant than the one that's presented, but in an obvious attempt to appeal to the masses the film-makers have played it safe, and as a result much of it sticks too close to formula and convention, which is most painfully obvious at its very traditional climax.

I would love to have seen a more honest biopic, one that didn't feel the need to gloss over so many of the negatives. What we have instead is still entertaining and genuinely touching, it's just a shame that it failed to be so much more.