A Beautiful Mind

(Movie Review)
Submitted to: Ms. Minda Bahug

Submitted by: Ramon Benedicto M. Sumabat NPE

It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reason can be found. John Nash
The movie a beautiful mind is about a person having a condition known as schizophrenia. It is quite rich in radical wisdom that may be too much for a modern society to consider. Nonetheless it never fails to amuse any viewer that may come across this work of art.

In this particular review, comments and observations will be made on the behavior of a schizophrenic patient and try to analyze by entering the world of the insane and then back. As this progress, the small unusual habits become worse and some scenes may manifest Johns lucid intervals.

Provocative honesty is just one thing to describe John Nash, a math genius from West Virginia, who at the beginning of the movie starts his freshman year at Princeton University. At this part of the film he showed slight indifference to social relationships like when he was slapped in the bar by a girl he tried to talk to, clumsiness, emotional expressions were limited and an extreme distaste for losing which was seen when he lost to Hansen in a Japanese game of Go, claiming that the game was illogical which in turn led him to neglect his personal hygiene and meals.

He tried to pursue Governing Dynamics an idea vaguely described in the movie which what he believes is the mathematical explanation to pattern of movements of living things. And as he chased this idea, they thought of him as bizarre, as he continued to create peculiar events that made sense only to him. It is like he has his own world where his thoughts were the standard of moral issues and his conduct is up to standard. He even claimed that Classes will dull your mind; it destroys the potential for authentic creativity and that he was wasting time memorizing the weak assumptions of lesser mortals.

Through all this predicaments that John unintentionally drew to himself, his roommate Charles was there to be that supporting hand. He was at some point an undeniable key to managing Johns behavior that ultimately helped john through the course of his studies. He was the one who really believed that John can actually achieve his goal and motivated him to continue on especially when John was again unable to cope with failure and was hurting himself and blaming that he was inadequate.

In another scene, John was in the bar with his loosely associated friends that he found a paper worth writing about when they were all discussing on how to get the blonde girl by discussing theories on economics and that made his discovery on economics strategy.

He would go on to become an analyst for Wheeler Defense Labs, and after five years he was invited over at the Pentagon to analyze an encrypted code from the Russians, in which an impressive looking John Nash comes to the scene. Traceable hints of strange habits are still noticeable just like when he was too engrossed on decoding the numbers.

Then a new person comes into play, his name is William Parcher who claims to work for the Department of Defense recruits John and makes him quite similar to a spy. And would go on to regularly contact John and ask to decode Russian encryptions to try and stop a possible nuclear attack. When they met slight signs of mistrust and challenging attitude was shown by John over a new acquaintance.

Though on the midst of all this, Alicia Larde who is one of his students was visited him in his office. Two things happened here, one was that she was making John uncomfortable and at the same time when she presented that she was able to solve the problem. This scene again manifested Johns inability to establish new social relationships as well as the thought of somebody being better than him considering it as a form of competition.

After that, to me this part was when almost everything becomes rally clear that John is already experiencing worsening of his symptoms. He was deeply vigilant at looking for any signs of Russian encryptions to the point it almost consumes his work life. He was more anxious about things.

As his relationship with Alicia tries to progress, she asks John why he does not talk much, and he states that I find that polishing my interactions in order to make them sociable requires a tremendous effort. I have a tendency to expedite information flow by being direct. As thus we as well agree that he indeed thus not get a pleasant result. As such behavior may be contributed to his condition. This being said, it goes without question as to how great a woman Alicia is to look past this fault in John and see this extreme honesty as a trait she admires by not rejecting him and instead marrying him.

John experienced a life changing event when he experience a threat to his life made by Russians. This situation caused to permanently change the course of Johns living. It made him extremely cautious and paranoid that ever moment of his life maybe his last due to fear of constant threat.

Alicia took notice that something was wrong with John the night when he was continuous watch over the outside of their house. She knew that she had to do something to help John and one that requires immediate attention.

A National Mathematics Conference was held at Harvard University, in which John was the speaker. There he again met up with his former roommate Charles and his niece Marcee. He displayed an obvious fear from his paranoia as he performed poorly in giving lecture that day. He was chased by men only to find out that it was Dr. Rosen who is a psychiatrist, who took John by sedating him, which he thought was a Russian spy. John woke up in Dr. Rosens office at MacArthur Psychiatric Hospital restrained there he saw Charles, apologizing for involving him in this mess. He thinks that Charles was one of the Russians, yet this is the point where Dr. Rosen would offer reality to

John by saying that there is nobody else there, and that he was crying out to an empty space.

Dr. Rosen then explains that John has schizophrenia, he tells her that people with this disorder are often paranoid, John has created a world of his own, that his behaviors are encouraged, that ultimately, John may have lost his grip on certain realities. Then comes the most heartbreaking part when Alicia was telling that Johns top secret work was a lie, people and events in his life never happened or existed. John walks out and hurts himself to try and find his implanted number on his forearm. He then manifests a flat affect when entering the room for his treatment then cries at the sorrow of finding out the truth.

As John was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Maria Loreto Sia states that this type have better prognosis than those afflicted with other subtypes and is the most responsive to treatment.

One year have passed since the treatment for John started, Alicia states all sorts of feeling like guilt and obligation. On the way home, one of his friends visit him, John exhibits a more subdued attitude and slight traces of self loathing. The scene shows a transformed John Nash, from genius to a guy who can barely perform mathematics because of the medication he takes in. He demonstrated complete neglect of his child and regression as well by playing with his childs toy. Johns marriage gets threatened by his condition. He fails to respond to his wife as an effect of his medication. Alicia suffers a great deal of stress at this point and decides that extended time of work can help get her mind off things. As John perceives this, he no longer drinks his medicine and stashes them away to regain his former self. Not long his hallucinations came back, as he chased

somebody to the trees only to find out that Parcher was there to recruit him back as John gave in once again to his hallucinations.

Then came a terrifying scene, where his hallucinations endanger his family members. Alicia was almost late in figuring out that John was not taking in his medications that he almost let his baby drown in the bathtub, saying that Charles was there watching over the baby. Then his hallucinations become out of control, Marcee, Charles, and Parcher were all urging him to kill his wife. He was now on the stage of panic were he becomes extremely agitated, aggressive, and almost violent. Then he realizes that this people he is seeing are nothing more than hallucinations. They consult Dr. Rosen again and he suggests that he work this out and find a solution to this problem.

He then comes back to Princeton and visits Hansen; he tells him that maybe being part of a community, and that a certain level of attachment with other people may help him block out the hallucinations. He may have found a proper intervention, since he may have created these hallucinations due to his scarce social relationships and interaction that led him to create imaginary friends and people.

He strives to fit in, tune out the 3 mind created people, and be normal. People stare and make fun of him, but still he persists through the advice of her wife as well. He even attended classes for the first time, while saying that he will never again talk to Charles and Marcee on his way there at the corridor.

And over time he made progress, he even made the hallucinations ignore him. He started teaching a few students that came up to him at school, he was as part of his goal and self treatment trying to reach out to other people and make attachments. He even played Go again with Hansen to overcome his fear of losing.

Suddenly, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for the paper he wrote back at college, and while he was having tea with Thomas King, the tradition he witness back

then happened to him and people started giving their pens to him. Finally being acknowledged by the people around him and being accepted.

And as the inevitable happened, he won the Nobel Prize and at the ceremony he said that throughout his life he was always solving equations, but only in the mathematical equations of love do you find the only logical reasons. The movie ends, but his legacy continues. Johns story serves as great inspiration to us all. This was a man whose life was an example that a can rise to any challenge, that a man can prove himself and make a difference if he sets his mind to do anything. This goes without question that I have learned a lot from this story; this creates an irrevocable influence to my perception of effort. This blows away any judgment and criticisms that may be passed to anyone. I learned from this that man has every potential to become great. To be better than what others would expect from us. You have the power over your life. You can create infinite possibilities and break limitations for the people you love and care about. Lastly, this presents that there no matter the reason that tries to block your way toward you goal, be it in this case a mental illness, the future belongs to the people who believes in the beauty of their dreams, that some people may be born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.