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A Beautiful Mind
This is one of those movies that Vera and I both figured we should see — after all, it did win Best Picture and Best Director a couple of years ago (though Ron Howard really deserved it more for Apollo 13 IMHO). But for the most part, we tend to avoid a lot of serious dramas, since watching movies is supposed to be fun, right? Of course, the thing is, we are almost always glad in the end when we do finally relent and see these movies, and this one was no exception.
As usual, Russell Crowe turns in another outstanding performance as the lead character John Nash. Based on a true story, the movie does an excellent job of taking you into his mind and world, and halfway through you are really caught off guard to realize just how much of his life was different from the way he perceived it.
The story is really bittersweet in many ways. Watching John trying to deal with his demons, all the while knowing the genius lurking beneath the surface, is tough when he's struggling, and exhilirating when he is able to overcome them. At the same time, watching his wife Alicia (played wonderfully by Jennifer Connelly) deal with him in spite of his problems is heartbreaking at times and extremely sweet at others.
Overall, this was a powerful movie with a lot of emotion and all-around excellent acting. I enjoyed it a lot. 3.5/4 stars.