Paul Bettany), who tries to lighten him up. John eventually closes in on a hypothesis for an economic theory and becomes a star in the math world. He lands a prestigious position at MIT, meets his wife, Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) and consults for the Pentagon, cracking impossible codes no one else can. He meets William Parcher (Ed Harris), a CIA agent who brings John in on a top-secret government operation to catch Russian spies--or so we think. Unbeknownst to those around him, Nash's "beautiful mind" is descending into madness and his grip on reality is fading. Alicia gets him psychiatric help, but the drugs and shock therapy dull him so senselessly, it's painful to watch. All Nash wants is his mind back, so he begins to fight his illness on his own terms. Through the years, John's delusions don't necessarily go away, but he learns to deal with them sanely. More importantly, in Nash's later life, he finally gains the respect and admiration he

and Nobel Prize winner, who simply wants to think--about theories, about life, about love--if only his own mind would let him do it. Howard has matured in his directing style. The film was lush to look at, where he uses shadows and light in an amazing way. The script, based on a book by Sylvia Nasar, is brilliant as well. About performance, Crowe is truly a wonder in this film. He really gets under Nash's skin, having obviously studied the real-life mathematician's movements and mannerisms carefully. From Nash's walk to the twitches of the mouth to the eyes that never stop moving, he fleshes out a character that melds perfectly with the real Nash. Crowe shows us the horror of being