Review of A Beautiful Mind (2001) by Don K — 19 Mar 2011

Lots of reviews say it helps to know little about the real story before watching this film. I disagree, even though the story was a bit sliced and diced for film. First tiime I saw it, when it came out a decade ago, I didn't care for it at all. Seemed like it jumped around a bit much between reality and the delusions in the professor's mind. Only after doing some background reading on the real Professor John Nash did I appreciate this movie. Even so, I had to hit the rewind button on the DVD a few times to comprehend what just transpired.

Some thought-provoking lines too:

Dr. Rosen: You can't reason your way out of this!

Nash: Why not? Why can't I?

Dr. Rosen: Because your mind is where the problem is in the first place!

[Hansen is concerned about John still having hallucinations].

Nash: They are my past. Everyone is haunted by their past.

Nash: I've gotten used to ignoring them and I think, as a result, they've kind of given up on me. I think that's what it's like with all our dreams and our nightmares, Martin, we've got to keep feeding them for them to stay alive.

Nash: [to Thomas King] I still see things that are not here. I just choose not to acknowledge them. Like a diet of the mind, I just choose not to indulge certain appetites; like my appetite for patterns; perhaps my appetite to imagine and to dream.

The bonus materials were also quite good. seeing the real John Nash teaching in the classroom and receiving his Nobel Prize added to my appreciation of the story.