A Beautiful Mind (2001)

I find it very difficult to grade this film without also grading the man (even in his fictional form) at the center of the story. This guy was a jerk who thought the rules didn't apply to him. He believed himself to be head and shoulders above others -- the only one with potential for originality. There's a tremendous scene in which he plays Go and, when he loses, blames the game for his loss, declaring that his play was perfect...knocking over the board in his hurry to escape from the failure.

The tragedy of this movie is that all of the amazing portions of it are simply inventions (either of his imagination or of the filmmakers). The secret government work? Awesome, but fake. The "stick with my man even in the rough times" attitude of his wife? Wonderful, but that's not the way it happened... Ron Howard seems incapable of trusting his audience with the truth, rough edges and all, about this unlikable man -- demanding that we not only respect his genius, but feel all warm and fuzzy about his behavior too.

This was the second time I've seen this film - the first time was in the theater after it'd been nominated. I remember that, at that time, I was quite irritated with Crowe's performance as it seemed to be just a collection of tics. This time, I appreciated the performance more -- due in no small part, I'm sure, to the fact that I was in my living room and able to rewind a bit to catch things he mumbled.

Certainly worth watching, but don't believe for a minute you're watching an accurate bio-pic.

B-