2001: A Beautiful Mind

This film tells the (mostly) true story of John Nash, who is socially awkward but mathematically brilliant.  At first he just wants to discover a mathematical breakthrough that's enough to get him published, but he soon learns that his mind can be put to much greater use.

I went into this movie knowing very little about it, and I think that's the best way to see it.  Very rarely do I get to watch a film without having already formed some kind of opinions about it.  If you haven't seen it yet, and don't know anything about it, my best advice is to stop reading and go watch the movie first, because I don't want to influence you.  It's definitely worth watching, so you won't be wasting your time.

For those who have already seen it, or just decided to ignore my advice from the last paragraph, I'll elaborate.  I think this movie is incredible, from nearly every aspect imaginable.  It's a fascinating story to start with, and it is told with a brilliant sense of reality that is almost ironic.  Everything from the script and soundtrack to the sets and lighting come together perfectly to form a truly remarkable film.  But I think the best aspect of the film is Russell Crowe's performance as Nash.  After having just seen him play a very different character in Gladiator, I can't help but marvel at his versatility as an actor.  He definitely should have won another Best Actor Oscar for this.  At least the Academy recognized Jennifer Connelly for her understated performance as Nash's wife, and Ron Howard for directing this masterpiece, but I don't understand why Crowe didn't win.  I know they probably wanted to give someone else a chance, but, come on, Tom Hanks won two in a row in the '90s!  How could they give Russell Crowe the award for Gladiator and not for A Beautiful Mind?  He was way better in this!  Oh, well.  He won a Golden Globe and several other awards.  The Oscars aren't everything.  Says the person who's watching all the Best Picture Oscar winners.

This is the kind of film that challenges audiences intellectually, and I often don't like those because they're too confusing.  While this movie is a bit confusing, it's still really easy to follow, which is nice.  In a way it's very disturbing, but not compared to many other Best Picture Winners.  Mostly it's about love and math, which I think is pretty awesome.

Next up: Chicago