Biographical movies are not easy to make. You have to not only have a good director, but you also need a good cast (and of course a lot of other people who know what the hell they’re doing). I am one who likes to watch a good biography every now and then. Last time I watched such a film was when I watched “Dead Man Walking”. Today we are taking a look at a biographical movie that tackles something else than a guy on death row or a gangster…this movie is about a teacher.

Ladies and gentlemen…”A Beautiful Mind”.

The movie follows the real life (with a few slightly more fictional aspects) story of mathematician John Nash (Russell Crowe). While he is a genius mathematician, he is also incredibly asocial. He is not one of those you see interacting and having fun with a bunch of friends a friday night. His only real friend is a man named Charles (Paul Bettany). But soon Nash will be pulled into some top secret cryptography work with the government. He at that point works for/with agent William Parcher (Ed Harris). This job is so top secret that he will have to keep it secret from his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). Thing is…this job will turn his life around in some very strange ways. And that is all I am gonna say, becuase this movie and it’s story is magnificent. It is both dramatic, complex and somewhat tragic…which is something I adore. If I was a teacher and the story was my student, I’d give it an A+!

The characters are complex. For example, John like I said is an asocial genius…which makes him a lot more interesting. But honestly, even though he and most characters are interesting and fantastically acted, Paul Bettany steals the show. He is one who just oozes charisma and is highly entertaining to watch. He is a little bit like Sam Rockwell in “Seven Psychopaths”. But in general to the entire situation, every character is complex, interesting and…realistic. Also, the actors are doing an amazing job in this movie…especially Russell Crowe.

The music in this movie is amazing. Sure, a lot of it is the type of music you’d expect from a drama…but that is not a bad thing. The soundtrack by James Horner is beautiful (mind). And what I mean by my first statement about it being what you’d expect is that there are a lot of orchestral tracks, but also a few relaxing, calm tracks that use the piano a fair amount. There is also a little voice…thingy (can’t really call it singing, because singing requires lyrics) in a good amount of the tracks…and that is one of the things that makes it beautiful. I love it.

While the camera work offers nothing new or innovative, it still looks really good. Ron Howard knows how to make a great looking movie (Even though I already knew that thanks to “Apollo 13”, “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons”). And again…Paul Bettany stole the show…I’m sorry I repeat myself, but the truth needs to get out there. Also, this movie almost made me cry a little bit during the second half (not saying how, just saying that it happened).

The reception for “A Beautiful Mind” was good. Rotten Tomatoes has a 76% positive rating with a “Fresh” certification. Metacritic has 72/100 as score. Roger Ebert gave this movie a perfect 4/4 stars. imdb.com has the score of 8,2/10 and has the movie ranked #161 on the Top 250 list.
This movie was also nominated for a total of 8 Oscars (Holy shit). And it won on 4 of them (Best Picture, Best supporting actress, Best director, best screenplay based on previously published material). The other 4 nominations were for Best Leading Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best original score.

The acting is fantastic, the story is complex and fantastic, music is fantastic and…FUCK IT! This entire movie is fantastic. My final score is a 9,71/10 and a recommendation to buy it…and also the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”

Review of “A Beautiful Mind” is finished.

Why didn’t Russell Crowe win the Oscar for this movie!? HE SHOULD’VE WON IT!