‎A Beautiful Mind (2001) directed by Ron Howard • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

A Beautiful Mind

2001 Directed by Ron Howard

I need to believe that something extra ordinary is possible...

At Princeton University, John Nash struggles to make a worthwhile contribution to serve as his legacy to the world of mathematics. He finally makes a revolutionary breakthrough that will eventually earn him the Nobel Prize. After graduate school he turns to teaching, becoming romantically involved with his student Alicia. Meanwhile the government asks his help with breaking Soviet codes, which soon gets him involved in a terrifying conspiracy plot. Nash grows more and more paranoid until a discovery that turns his entire world upside down. Now it is only with Alicia's help that he will be able to recover his mental strength and regain his status as the great mathematician we know him as today..

Russell Crowe Ed Harris Jennifer Connelly Christopher Plummer Paul Bettany Adam Goldberg Josh Lucas Anthony Rapp Jason Gray-Stanford Judd Hirsch Austin Pendleton Vivien Cardone Jillie Simon Victor Steinbach Tanya Clarke Thomas F. Walsh Jesse Doran Kent Cassella Patrick Blindauer John Blaylock Roy Thinnes Anthony Easton Cheryl Howard Josh Pais David B. Allen Michael Esper Erik Van Wyck Rance Howard Jane Jenkins Show All…

135 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by CinemaClown ★★★★

Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind is an expertly crafted biopic based on the life of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash & covers his struggle with his condition. Although the artistic license taken here makes it far more cinematic than required, the film nonetheless succeeds as a touching, entertaining & satisfying experience.

Based on the novel of the same name, the story of A Beautiful Mind begins in 1947 when the young John Nash arrives at Princeton University. Eccentric but brilliant, Nash graduates with flying colours, is hired by MIT but begins exhibiting troubling symptoms of a mental illness which in the long run affects not only his personal & professional life but also those around him.

Directed by…
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★ 5

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

"So what am I now, a spy?"

Not only did I manage not to have this movie spoiled for me, but despite it being a favorite of my father's and girlfriend's I managed to block out the knowledge that there was even anything to spoil about it. Before the movie started my dad even said something along the lines of, "It's never the same as the first time you see it." Thank you, brain, for selectively understanding the world around me.

There's a section of this movie which is absolutely terrifying to me, more than any horror movie I've ever seen. A Beautiful Mind plays out the idea that you can't think your way out of mental illness. There's a…
Review by Scott Anderson ★★★½ 5

I find the concept of expectations and whether or not they are met to be fascinating, especially in regards to film criticism. Last night I finally saw the 2002 Best Picture winner A Beautiful Mind for the first time, a mere 12 years after its release, and without a doubt it is a very good film, one that was elevated to that level through pretty great performances throughout but especially from the two leads. Russell Crowe is John Forbes Nash Jr. and Jennifer Connelly is Alicia, a student in his class that stuns Nash not just with her beauty but also the bold move she makes to solve a noise/temperature problem on his first day as her teacher. I truly…
Review by Dave ★★★★

Before "Noah" came along, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly owned this highly entertaining drama about the life of John Nash. Rather than play it like a straight biopic, Ron Howard chose to go inside Nash’s schizophrenic mind, and the results are dazzling.

Crowe, disappearing once again, adds another enigmatic role to his roster of great performances. He should have won Oscars for "The Insider" and this film, not for "Gladiator," but I digress. He's easily one of our best actors-slash-movie stars in the business.

And Jennifer Connelly? Well, dammit, she can do no wrong, can she?
Review by Andy Summers ★★★½ 1

A Beautiful Mind won the Best Picture Academy Award back in 2002, and although an engrossing and well made biopic, it robbed The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring of a well deserved Oscar. Russell Crowe's performance as mathematician John Nash is another of those incredible transformations from the Wellington born actor, who could well have bagged another statuette to add to his gong for Gladiator. The mercurial Ron Howard directs with gusto, but for a biopic, this take on Nash's life has more than a few dramatic liberties taken with some of the more important aspects of his life-story. So he was a genius, a paranoid schizophrenic, and prone to delusions, but he was good at…
Review by Filmusicinemike ★★★★½ 3

A Beautiful Mind is a beautiful film.

Russell Crowe somehow looked much younger in this than he did in Gladiator which came out a year before.

This movie was so wonderful and really plays with the audience's feelings. I was either really happy, really surprised, or really concerned. A film that directors in present cinema should make more of.

I love stories about characters like this, and really would like to see more!

Recent reviews

Review by alexheap ★★★

Early 2000s Russell Crowe is the best Russell Crowe.
Review by Andrew R. ★

I originally thought this had no merits, but turns out that the Kaleidoscope of Numbers track is good.
Review by m3m3nt0 ★★★★½

I always get teary-eyed with the speech by the end.
Review by Inter ★★★½

jl
Review by crkkos ★★★★

Russell Crowe is suprisngly excellent in this movie about a mathematical genius on the brink of insanity. Although he was excellent in Gladiator and LA Confidential I was not sure of his ability to play a non aggressive character. He is fantastic, and this film is really well directed. The movie is inspiring, emotional and although mostly forgotten amongst some of the classic movies, it was a very good watch.
Review by Lucas Hill-Paul ★★★

Lukewarm rating might have been mildly affected by the Doctor Who announcement taking much of my attention.
Review by lex ★★★½

Boy oh boy do I love Jennifer Connelley
Review by Kim Deiparine ★★★½

I've seen this movie before but I was too young to understand. Now I'm seeing this recently for Psychiatry class and I'm currently struggling in med school.

I guess what this movie made me realize is that — this partly what my life has been all about, and what I should keep on doing is to ignore the nightmares until you make it. It's probably just all in my head.
Review by jswysin ★★★

Very best picturey. I liked the James Horner score and Russell Crowe plays an old man real well. But Ron Howard (best known for his quality narration work) beat David Lynch for best director (Mulholland Drive). Now that's crazy.