A Beautiful Mind (2001)
87%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Won 4 Oscars
37 wins & 69 nominations total
The well-acted A Beautiful Mind is both a moving love story and a revealing look at mental illness
A Beautiful Mind is a movie that will make you feel like you’re doing math in your head, but without actually having to do any math. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, from staring at the heavens to feeling like you’re in a formulaic biopic. But hey, at least it makes math look sexy, right? And Russell Crowe’s ability to charm and confuse at the same time is perfectly suited for the character of John Nash. Overall, it’s a movie that will leave you feeling inspired to read more about the real John Nash, but also wondering if brainwork really wrecks your health.
Production Company(ies)
FX Sound Industrias Audiovisuales Argentinas S.A.J.Z. & Asociados
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, sexual content and a scene of violence
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 15m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 4, 2002 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 25, 2002
Genre(s)
Biography/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, directed by Ron Howard, written by Akiva Goldsman, Sylvia Nasar, biography, drama, mental illness, love story, mathematician, Nobel Prize, box office, budget, reviewed by Jonathan Romney, Philip Kerr, Christy Lemire, Scott Tobias, Alexander Walker, Jami Bernard, Catherine Springer, Catherine Graham, Dominic Bloch, PG-13, produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Universal Pictures, Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Worldwide gross: $316,791,257
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $525,418,125
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 267
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 57,297,505
US/Canada gross: $170,742,341
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $283,186,858
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 215
US/Canada opening weekend: $367,151
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $608,943
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,359
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $58,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $96,196,630
Production budget ranking: 430
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $51,801,885
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $377,419,610
ROI to date (est.): 255%
ROI ranking: 525
Ed Harris – Parcher
Jennifer Connelly – Alicia Nash
Paul Bettany – Charles
Adam Goldberg – Sol
Judd Hirsch – Helinger
Director(s)
Ron Howard
Writer(s)
Akiva Goldsman, Sylvia Nasar
Producer(s)
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
37 wins & 69 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (213) | Top Critics (55) | Fresh (158) | Rotten (55)
Ultimately the message is banal and rather repellent: brainwork wrecks your health.
February 28, 2018
Jonathan Romney
Independent on Sunday
TOP CRITIC
Crowe is called upon to do not much more than stare solicitously at the heavens, from where inspiration duly arrives, to the accompaniment of some predictably celestial music.
October 21, 2014
Philip Kerr
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
A Beautiful Mind is Howard’s best movie, and easily one of the best movies of the year.
February 4, 2014
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
It’s not a crime for the script to gloss over the thornier aspects of Nash’s story, but the film seems totally unconvincing, squeezing a real life into a formula that’s simultaneously more palatable and less interesting.
February 4, 2014
Scott Tobias
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
A Beautiful Mind is not an insult to the intelligence, not quite. But it makes every effort to celebrate that uncommon faculty and at the same time play it down to the lowest common level.
February 4, 2014
Alexander Walker
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The result is one of the most successful attempts to make math look sexy, even if the movie strays – gallops, really – from the details of the actual life of Nobel Prize-winner John Forbes Nash Jr.
February 4, 2014
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Nash’s character is perfectly suited to Crowe’s ability to charm and confuse at the same moment.
July 26, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Catherine Springer
CathsFilmForum.com
Its inspirational qualities to read more about the real John Nash (and all the things omitted from this biopic) might be the only lasting effect.
September 25, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Howard’s A Beautiful Mind works because it is not a film about mental illness, but a film about John Nash.
September 2, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Profoundly, exhaustingly mediocre, a fussily overdone bit of mindless prestige filmmaking.
February 24, 2019 | Rating: 2/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
Granted, it’s uplifting to see mental illness portrayed on the screen in a humane fashion and world-class intellectuals elevated to heroic status. But A Beautiful Mind feels contrived from beginning to end, a paint-by-the-numbers biography.
February 21, 2019 | Rating: C-
Catherine Graham
Santa Cruz Sentinel
This is stirring and absorbing stuff.
February 21, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Dominic Bloch
Sky Cinema…
Plot
From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash, Jr. experienced it all. A mathematical genius, he made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery. After many years of struggle, he eventually triumphed over his tragedy, and finally – late in life – received the Nobel Prize.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Russell Crowe’s performance as John Nash is “excellent” according to an audience review.
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