Director: Ron Howard
Score: 5/10
The Head Eats The Tail: Hollywood Biopics
This was a very overdue viewing for me. I’ve known about this film for years, from the fact that it was a breakout movie for director Ron Howard, its starring Russell Crowe, and even the fact that it did very well at the Oscars. Somehow, though, it always fell to the back of my “to-see” list. Maybe just because I was busying reveling in similar classics, the way Megamind was largely overshadowed by the too-similar Despicable Me. I dunno.
A Beautiful Mind follows the life’s story of John Nash, an utterly brilliant mind that helped change the way we view not only social theory, but video games, conflict resolution, societal mores, and economics (for which he won his Nobel prize). As is often the case, however, a mind like that comes with baggage. In Nash’s case, it was a growing battle with schizophrenia, blooming into full-blown paranoia. He feared communists, and was actually convinced that everyone in a red tie was out to get him (sadly not depicted in the film). In the end, he fought and largely won a battle with the disease, and contributed greatly to society through his teaching, research, and theories.
Sadly, I feel more than a little regret at my lapse in viewing this film, because I honestly feel like this is a movie I would have enjoyed much more two or three years ago. As it stands now, I see it as largely just average.
Let’s not leave things unsaid, though, A Beautiful Mind does some things very well indeed. The sheer force of directing needed to adequately show and audience the effects of schizophrenia and the accompanying confusion, dementia, and angst is just staggering to think about. The film’s score is very good, seemingly weaving in and out of musical themes in much the same way our protagonist’s mind does with reality. The Oscar for best supporting actress is much deserved as well.
The problem is with biopics in general of late. Hollywood has poisoned itself in my mind. I fear that I’ve been largely ruined on the biographical-film genre thanks to films like The Imitation Game and American Sniper, two of the most disingenuous films I think I’ve ever watched. I watched A Beautiful Mind throughout with Wikipedia open on my phone, fact-checking the movie as I saw it. At the credits, my thought of “that’s a pretty decent movie” was closely shadowed by “I wonder how much of it was a lie?”
I’m not ignorant, I know that the words “based on a true story” have always been free license to an Oscar-baiting director, but I used to be able to overlook that. Maybe it’s the free, instantaneous access to information in this age that throws such a blinding light on the ways films twist historical facts into a story, or maybe it’s simply a cynicism born of age and maturity in a movie-goer who is actually passingly familiar with the names and persons on the screen beforehand. Maybe ignorance really is bliss. Who can say? Movie writers have gone to the well too many times, and now I find myself dry as I watch.
All I know is that in my mind, I find myself comparing A Beautiful Mind to the likes of, say, Good Will Hunting (I’m not 100% sure why, maybe it’s the visual aesthetic, or the way both films deal with inherent brilliance in a character). I find the fictional story not only more palatable, but infinitely deeper and more meaningful. Maybe that’s really where the crux of the issue lies: the real story isn’t necessarily a good story. Be that as it may, I’d much rather have a story that’s based on a fact or a historical event rather than a real person. I don’t enjoy having someone’s real flaws traded for ones that are more subservient to a plot.
Acting: 8
Story: 5
Visuals: 6
Sound: 7
Enjoyment: 5
Overall Score: 5/10
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