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Master Rank #441

A Beautiful Mind

2001

GCML Total8.5640% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Ron Howard

CastRussell Crowe · Ed Harris · Jennifer Connelly

USAEnglishDrama / Romance135 minPG-13
IMDb Top 250Narrative FeatureModerate pace
Find Where to Watch
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Oscar · 4Globe · 4BAFTA · 2

Spoiler-free premise

Mathematician John Nash pursues an original theory at Princeton while relationships and disturbing perceptions challenge his grasp of reality.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Princeton graduate student John Nash searches obsessively for an original mathematical idea and later works in game theory and government analysis. His marriage to Alicia and experiences he interprets as secret intelligence work place intellectual certainty under pressure.

Why it belongs

A Beautiful Mind makes mathematical ambition and mental illness emotionally accessible through subjective apprehension, Crowe's concentrated Nash, and Connelly's grounded Alicia.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Chalkboards, window equations, pattern montages, campus spaces, coded documents, and shifting points of view place viewers near Nash's certainty before challenging it. Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly make adaptation relational rather than solitary.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards4 wins2002 · official ceremony record ↗
Best Picture2002 · Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, Producersofficial ceremony record ↗Directing2002 · Ron Howardofficial ceremony record ↗Writing (Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published)2002 · Written by Akiva Goldsmanofficial ceremony record ↗Actress in a Supporting Role2002 · Jennifer Connellyofficial ceremony record ↗
Golden Globes4 wins2002 · official film record ↗
Best Motion Picture - Drama2002 · A Beautiful Mindofficial film record ↗Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama2002 · Russell Croweofficial film record ↗Best Screenplay - Motion Picture2002 · Akiva Goldsmanofficial film record ↗Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture2002 · Jennifer Connellyofficial film record ↗
BAFTA2 wins2002 · official BAFTA 2002 Film Awards results ↗
Best Actor2002 · Russell Croweofficial BAFTA 2002 Film Awards results ↗Supporting Actress2002 · Jennifer Connellyofficial BAFTA 2002 Film Awards results ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date Night
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

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