Russell Crowe
John Nash
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A biographical film about John Nash, a mathematical genius who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and wins the Nobel Prize. The plot follows his journey from his discovery at Princeton to his delusions and recovery with the help of his wife Alicia.
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A Beautiful Mind is a biographical drama film about the mathematician John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics and struggled with schizophrenia. The film, directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe, won four Academy Awards and was based on a book by Sylvia Nasar.
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- Production notes and credits
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- Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
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A Beautiful Mind, American biographical film, released in 2001, that told the story of American Nobel Prize winner John Nash, whose innovative work on game theory in mathematics was in many ways overshadowed by decades of mental illness. Parts of the film, which is set largely on the campus of Princeton University against a backdrop of Cold War intrigue, are seen from Nash’s delusional perspective. The movie, directed by Ron Howard and based loosely on Sylvia Nasar’s 1998 biography of Nash, won four Academy Awards, including that for best picture.
The movie begins in 1947 at Princeton, where Nash (played by Russell Crowe) has arrived as a graduate student, together with Martin Hansen (Josh Lucas), Richard Sol (Adam Goldberg), Ainsley (Jason Gray-Stanford), and Bender (Anthony Rapp). Nash is arrogant and dismissive of his classmates but gets along with his roommate Charles (Paul Bettany). Nash generally pursues his studies alone but, when Charles suggests that he take a break and go to a bar, Nash agrees. At the bar, a discussion with his classmates as to the most successful way for them to approach a group of women leads to Nash’s breakthrough paper on game theory.
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Nash later receives an appointment to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Sol and Bender become his assistants. A few years later, he is asked to the Pentagon to decrypt coded Russian communications. His success impresses William Parcher (Ed Harris), a high-level agent in the Department of Defense. While teaching at MIT, Nash begins dating a student, Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). Parcher visits Nash to enlist him in a group of workers who scan newspapers and magazines to find hidden Russian codes embedded in the text. Nash is to leave deciphered codes in a secret drop box for Parcher. The clandestine work makes Nash nervous, but he is cheered when he reunites with his former roommate Charles. He marries Alicia soon thereafter. Some time later, Nash gets caught up in a gun battle between Parcher and several Russian agents. Terrified, he asks Parcher to be relieved of his assignment, but Parcher tells him that he would be killed if he were to quit. While giving a lecture at Harvard University, Nash sees Charles in the audience but then spots Russian agents as well, and he flees.
Nash is captured, sedated, and sent to a psychiatric facility under the care of Dr. Rosen (Christopher Plummer). Dr. Rosen tells Alicia that Nash suffers from schizophrenia and that Parcher and Charles exist only in Nash’s mind. Alicia is not convinced until she sees the inside of Nash’s office and also finds the drop box, which is full of unopened missives. Nash receives therapy, and Nash, Alicia, and their son move to Princeton. The medication makes Nash lethargic, however, and eventually he stops taking his pills. After he knocks Alicia to the ground when Parcher urges him to kill her, he and Alicia decide to find a way to live with his illness. After that, although Nash continues to see Parcher and Charles, he no longer interacts with them. Eventually, he is able to return to teaching, and in 1994 he receives the Nobel Prize.
•Studios: Universal Studios, DreamWorks, and Imagine Entertainment
•Director: Ron Howard
•Writer: Akiva Goldsman (script)
•Music: James Horner
•Russell Crowe (John Nash)
•Jennifer Connelly (Alicia Nash)
•Josh Lucas (Martin Hansen)
•Adam Goldberg (Richard Sol)
•Anthony Rapp (Bender)
•Paul Bettany (Charles)
•Picture*
•Lead actor (Russell Crowe)
•Supporting actress* (Jennifer Connelly)
•Directing*
•Editing
•Makeup
A film by Ron Howard based on the biography of John Nash, a mathematician who won the Nobel Prize but suffered from schizophrenia. The film shows his academic achievements, his delusions, his marriage, and his recovery.
- Pat Bauer
Learn about the life and work of John Nash, a brilliant mathematician who struggled with schizophrenia and won the Nobel Prize. This study guide provides chapter summaries, analysis, and themes of the biography by Sylvia Nasar.
A review of the biographical film about John Forbes Nash Jr., a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and a schizophrenic. The review praises the performances, the direction and the portrayal of Nash's struggles and achievements.
Complete plot summary of A Beautiful Mind, written by specialists and reviewed by film experts.
Learn about the life and achievements of John Nash, a brilliant mathematician who suffered from schizophrenia, in this book by Sylvia Nasar. The summary covers his childhood, education, career, marriage, and recovery from mental illness.
