A Beautiful Mind is one of the most moving and uplifting pictures I'd ever seen so I wanted to go back and listen to the commentary by Ron Howard to see his thoughts on what it took to make it. Since I'm trying to get into the realm of Howard's films to get ready for A&D, I was very excited to hear him share the research and real meetings he had with John Nash and his wife to get the true stories of what he went through while at his time at Princeton. For me this is one of my favorite Russel Crowe performances as he's just so great at getting totally involved in this character from the beginning with the little nuances of not fitting in to seeing the equations in the world around him. Howard explains filming on campus to putting in details of how Nash sees the world whether it be the light relecting off a glass or the way he creates his first paper by understanding how we as men try to pick up women.
I liked the idea that he gets his idea by interacting with people in the real world to try and solve his reason for quantum mechanics or an equation to tie everything together. Howards points out direct instances where birds don't fly when the girl walks through or when it's always Nash POV when looking at his imaginary friends which all give hints as to his schizophrenia later down the road. The battle with this disease to balance his love life while also trying to do something important in the mathematical world is given such detail that we symphathize and connect with the highs and lows of his career and want him to succeed. From the sweeping music by James Horner to the great makeup work to show him aging, A Beautiful Mind is an incredible true story about one of the smartest men that ever lived who fought this illness to do what he always dreamed of. Howard's commentary was great as you could see the close relationship he has with Nash and how he really wanted to show the dangers this disease could have on kids or the way that he shows mathmatetics are a part of everything in the world. I appreciate a movie like this that can make math accessable while also showing a rollercoaster ride of emotion that can take a toll on even the most important people. I did research on the real John Nash right after and understand why this story drew Howard's eye.
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