Hollywood loves biographical films, especially when its about a larger than life hero who overcomes adversity to become famous and well-respected. This is why the life of maths genius John Forbes Nash Jr. seems tailor made to be an awards calibre movie and even in the hands of Ron Howard, best known for more blockbuster-aimed fare, the film version surprisingly succeeds on many levels including the most difficult - making the suject of maths interesting. "A Beautiful Mind" contains some of the most powerful performances of the year from its two leads, and a story which has its moments that truly grip you, nevertheless one can't help but feel that what we are seeing is the Hollywood sanitised version of the story whilst other elements included are purely there to make the subject matter more digestible to mainstream audiences (eg. the bar pickup 'blond' scene).
The acting is what truly shines here, Crowe once again shows off an amazing talent - the role is extremely demanding and requires a combination of arrogance, introversion, intelligence, occasional wit, and a superiority complex all in one. He never falters for a second and if the sloppy sentimental tone of the last 20 minutes didn't get in the way, his performance here would match that he gave as Jeffrey Wigand two years ago in "The Insider".
Proving an equal to Crowe though is Connelly who looks radiant and holds her own, giving us a role of a very clever, frank and funny young woman who shares great chemistry with Crowe even during some of the film's more harrowing and very unromantic scenes. Supporting talent sadly don't get to shine much in their roles - Ed Harris seems wasted in a Government Agent role that could've been done by anyone, same goes for Christopher Plummer. Its only really Paul Bettany as an extroverted roommate that succeeds at reaching anywhere near the level of the leads.
Goldsman's script gives us a surprisingly adult take on the world of mental ability, and while some of the dialogue and character development isn't at the level it should be, the actors help overcome the little flaws. Still the main problem with the film is one not so easily excised. What separates a good biopic from a great one is to give us a person who not only overcomes obstacles, but someone who is just as flawed (if not more so) than we are.
The filmmakers here have given us a look at Nash's life as seen through rose-colored glasses - its gushy at times and while it does focus on one major 'flaw' it conveniently cuts out a lot of the past history which would make the character more interesting - a previous marriage, gay love affairs, a public arrest, etc. All these elements which were in the book were not hinted or referenced at all in the movie.
While understandably the studio comes back with the line that those elements are not part of the story they want to tell, with them missing your missing out on key bits of Nash's background and one can't help but feel the man's life has been cheapened by this whitewashing in order for Hollywood to earn a quick buck. As a result you get the feeling of an art house movie trying to be mainstream commercial - a formula that rarely works and sadly yet again misfires here.
Howard gives us what is basically 4/5 of the way to becoming a classic, a project which misses that last step and thus whilst not a 'Best Film of the Year', it has ended up being a very good film which certainly is amongst the Top Ten. Its more of a warm and likable "Finding Forrester" style tale than an edgy and excellent "American Beauty", but its certainly engaging.
