A Beautiful Mind

This movie released in 2001 features Russell Crowe as John Nash, a mathematician who struggles with Schizophrenia. He is completely unaware of his Schizophrenia until his adult years when he is finally confronted by a psychiatrist.

It is difficult to imagine that anyone could create people in their minds and have actual conversations with them throughout their lifetime, but that's exactly what John Nash did. Starting in his college years at Princeton University, John actually believes he has a roommate, with whom he drinks, converses, and experiences life with. After college, he is recruited by a CIA agent to work on top secret projects, yet this is also a creation within Johns mind.





Although his disorder greatly effects his work as a genius mathematician later in life, he was able to make a great innovative contribution to mathematics and economics during his college career.

After many months of insulin treatments (which was believed to "seizure the schizophrenia away" at the time), John was prescribed medication which interfered with his concentration and therefore his work. Before long, John refused to continue the medication and was determined to defeat this disorder with his will alone. John never completely overcomes his disorder of Schizophrenia, but he is able to suppress the symptoms without psychotropic medications.

At a ripe age later in life, John is finally recognized for his contributions with a Nobel Peace Prize and thanks his wife because "without her, he would not be here."

I found the movie greatly insightful into the mind of a Schizophrenic individual. It did not show that Schizophrenics are violent (although there was one scene where he accidentally knocked his wife into the wall), which is a common misconception. Schizophrenic symptoms are described as hallucinations and this word to me illustrated a ghost-like image of someone, yet John actually saw people!

The characters in Johns mind had their own life stories and displayed emotions just like anyone else in his life. It would certainly be hard to determine who is real and who is not. This movie did a great job of showing the frustration and pain that such hallucinations can cause.

I can put myself in John's shoes and imagine the constant questioning of my reality and how that would feel. It would feel empty to have someone telling you that your best friend and roommate from college was fictional or that the hard work you've been doing for the government over the past years isn't real.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to truly get inside the mind of a a person suffering from Schizophrenia.