A Beautiful Mind
Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, sexual content and a scene of violence.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
You might think a movie about a math genius would be a snoozer. But director Ron Howard’s new film, “A Beautiful Mind,” is a powerful true story about intelligence, the search for significance, post-war spy games, mental illness, and, ultimately, love.
In 1947, John Nash arrives at Princeton on a math scholarship with a burning desire to find an original idea and gain status in the math community. Obviously intelligent, John is unable to interact normally with other people--even with the other math students at Princeton. His closest friend Charles (“A Knight’s Tale’s” Paul Bettany) is his fun-loving roommate who pushes John to get out more and loosen up. The other students admire John’s ideas, but mock him for his strange behavior around people.
Although he never goes to class, John eventually comes up with an idea brilliant enough to get him a job with a defense lab at M.I.T. Part of his work includes breaking Russian codes. That eventually earns him the attention of a covert agent (Ed Harris) who puts him to work looking for secret codes in popular magazines.
In spite of his complete lack of social ability, John catches the eye of Alicia (Jennifer Connelly), one of his M.I.T. grad students. Once they marry, John decides he wants out of the dangerous spy work he’s involved in. But the government seems to have other ideas.
I can’t keep writing about this movie without revealing a major secret. So if you’re just reading this to see if it’s a decent movie, it is. Aside from some non-graphic sexual dialog and some bad language, it’s a great film and definitely worth seeing. If you’ve already seen it, keep reading.
Up to this point, “A Beautiful Mind” is suspenseful, exciting, and well-written, directed, and acted. But when we start to realize that John may be a delusional schizophrenic, imagining his relationship with the secret government agent (and others), the movie becomes compelling and masterful. Like John, we’re suddenly unsure what’s real and what isn’t. And we keep hoping that his supposed mental illness is part of a conspiracy or government cover-up.
But like John’s friends, we also start to see how the signs of his mental illness were there all along. We think back over the movie and see how it all makes more sense in light of his schizophrenia. And like Alicia, John’s wife, we’re terrified that this brilliant human mind could deceive itself so completely. The film is all the more amazing because John Nash is a real person, still living today.
Crowe gives another great performance as Nash, a role miles different from his part in “Gladiator.” The rest of the cast--especially Jennifer Connolly as John’s wife--are excellent. And the musical score delivers just the right mood for the film.
At least three truths popped out at me from the movie.
1. John’s break with reality seemed to come, in part, from his desire for glory. He wanted desperately to be known as one of the best and smartest. His delusions came on strongest when he was afraid that he wasn’t doing well enough in life and needed a boost to his confidence.
We all want our lives to matter. But true contentment can only come from knowing that we matter to God--and that His glory matters most of all. John the Baptist said of Jesus: “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30) Chasing our own glory might not make us crazy, but it will never bring us peace. Becoming God’s servant--instead of a “star”--brings real peace and eternal results (Romans 12:1-8).
2. A loving wife can make all the difference. Very few would have blamed Alicia for leaving John. John’s delusions had clearly put her and their child in danger. He refused to continue treatment, and he lost the ability to support her financially. But she made a choice to keep her commitment to him and support him through his dark struggle.
A Beautiful Mind” paints a beautiful picture of how powerfully a woman can give life and courage and purpose to her husband. Alicia’s faith and faithfulness made it possible for John Nash to overcome his illness and eventually put his brilliant mind back to productive use. Marriage isn’t easy, but God’s plan for husbands and wives works. It’s worth following.
3. I wondered how much a relationship with God would have helped John to deal with his mental illness. Contrary to some teaching, not all mental illness comes from demonic influences. But it seems to me that all mental illness could be helped by the God who can transform lives by renewing minds (Romans 12:2).
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