The Brain is a Complex Organ that’s Always Evolving: A Beautiful Mind Review
John Nash, a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician made major contributions to various aspects of mathematics and economics, including game theory, algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. Aside from his intelligence, one notable thing that stood out about Nash was his battle with Schizophrenia. In this mental disorder, people’s perception of reality differs from that of those who do not struggle with it.
In 2001, A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ron Howard, told the biographical journey of Nash’s struggles and triumphs, balancing his outstanding intelligence with the difficulties of schizophrenia in the late 1970s. In the end, the movie shows his triumphant return as a professor, a Nobel Prize winner, and most importantly, a resolute family person. Without knowing the backstory of Nash or knowledge about schizophrenia, Crow’s performance showed the complexity of someone who suffers from an illness without a cure, having to be institutionalized against his will, and rejecting, only to later accept taking medication to keep living. The movie introduces various characters, Charles, Marcee, and Parcher, allowing the audience to question if they are part of reality or his reality. The interaction between Nash and Marcee made you believe she is part of his real life. Later, Nash knows that to deal with his schizophrenia healthily, he has to say goodbye to the illusions in his mind. In a heartbreaking scene before Nash teaches his first class, he tells Marcee goodbye, kissing her on the forehead. This scene shows that people who have schizophrenia don’t only “see” people who are after them or want to harm, but also “people” who they bond with, want to keep safe, and have a genuine connection with.
Jennifer Connolley, who plays his wife, Alice, who show what it is like to, one, fall in love with someone who has a mental illness when they are not knowingly dealing with themselves, and two, the complexity of trying to love someone who deals with a mental illness and take care of yourself at the same time. Alice, who can’t bear to watch Nash go through injections as he is strapped to a bed in pain, looks away as the doctor describes what is going on. In another scene, Alice goes to the bathroom, closes the door, and screams in frustration from having to keep it together for someone who is sick, along with a newborn baby. Alice loves her husband, but the toll of caring for someone with an illness that has no cure is frustrating.
the research continues.
“…People who have schizophrenia don’t only “see” people who are after them or want to harm, but also “people” who they bond with, want to keep safe, and have a genuine connection with.”
As A Beautiful Mind concludes, Nash, who was once ostracized for his mental illness, is accepted by fellow professors at Princeton, as shown by their placing a ballpoint pen on the table in front of him. At the end of the movie, Nash accepts his Nobel Peace Prize in economic sciences in game theory, then leaves the auditorium with Alice and their son. While Nash glances over to see Charles, Marcee, and Parcher watching him, he merely ignores them and keeps walking with his family, concluding the movie.
A Beautiful Mind is a movie about an undoubtedly intelligent man who must figure out how to live with schizophrenia. While the media portrays those who suffer from the disease as “insane” or “crazy,” the movie shows the complexities of someone who has schizophrenia from multiple angles. While there are stories of people who have schizophrenia, A Beautiful Mind reminds the audience that the brain is a complex and wonderful organ that is constantly evolving.
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