Ron Howard admirably put together 2001's Bet Picture `A Beautiful Mind,' the story of Professor John Nash's battle against his schizophrenia. As anyone who has read my reviews knows I tend not too watch too many of these modern, major Hollywood productions and I usually find them to be too slick and with no edge. This fact, along with my general dislike of Russell Crowe had me avoiding this Oscar winner for a while.

With all of my personal baggage now set aside, I must admit I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would, and even more surprisingly, I found the best part of the film to be Crowe's convincing portrayal of Nash. The depth and talent that must be utilized in order to convincingly portray mental illness must be staggering. Jennifer Connelly (`Pollock') deservedly earned her Oscar for her heart-felt depiction of Nash's wife, Alicia. The other actor that warrants mentioning is the always brilliant Ed Harris (`Pollock,' `Apollo 13,' `Nixon.') Is it just me or do others feel that if Ed Harris starred in a remake of `Plan 9 from Outer Space' it would warrant Oscar consideration? The man is an amazing talent.

The area of this project that seems the most beautiful to me is the combination of Howard's direction, Roger Deakin's (`O' Brother Where Art Thou' `Fargo' `Kundun')cinematography and the editing of Dan Hanley and Michael Hill (editing team on `Apollo 13' and `Backdraft'). The way that this film depicts the inner workings of Nash's mathematical and schizophrenia is wonderfully done.