The Other Beautiful MindsA Beautiful Mind is a touching portrayal of love conquering all in the lives of a brilliant mathematician, John F. Nash and his devoted wife, Alicia. Based on the book of the same title by Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind chronicles Nash’s troubled life, from his first days at Princeton University, to his becoming the recipient of the Nobel Prize in economics, in 1994. From the beginning we immediately see that he is a very smart, very opinionated, and significantly, a very withdrawn and tormented individual. He rejects his peers, refuses to participate in the social or educational community and is painfully uncomfortable with nearly everyone. What is not evident is that he is and has been suffering from a progressively debilitating mental illness.Out of respect for the value of this film and some of its surprise elements, I won’t spoil the story by giving it all away, though I suspect that many of you have already seen it. Director, Ron Howard, tells the story of Nash’s descent into mental illness through a device that’s a bit of a contrivance, but the telling is done with such a sensitivity to its underlying truth that it makes no sense to me to pick apart the film, based on current research knowledge. Rather, I’m impressed with the humanity that is left in, and the absence of stereotyping that might feed our unfortunate tendency to stigmatize the mentally ill as less human than ourselves. I was touched by the performances of Russel Crowe (Nash), for his believable mix of brilliance amidst emerging insanity and Jennifer Connelly for her portrayal of the power of the strength and endurance of love over illness in her character, Alicia, first Nash’s student and then his wife and lifelong life-line. Until fairly recently, mental disorders such as schizophrenia were poorly understood and treatments reflected our lack of knowledge regarding their biological as well as their psychological and social aspects. Researchers are still sorting out these conditions and many experts believe that disorders, such as schizophrenia, will be better classified according to specific brain and behavior deficits that we are just now beginning to identify and measure. Although the movie suggests and history supports that Nash was able to sort out his delusions and hallucinations on his own by a sort of force of will of mind, this is, in fact, a rare outcome for those afflicted persons who refuse or do not receive treatment. This man had an extraordinary intellect, a “beautiful mind,” yet it took him in the order of thirty years to learn to “abstain” as he put it, from his psychotic experiences. Current knowledge tells us that schizophrenia is a real disorder, requiring expert treatment, nearly always with antipsychotic medication. Family supports, as we see in this wonderful film, have a powerful healing effect. Families with loved ones who have schizophrenia should become well informed about this illness and advocate for effective and compassionate treatment. Medication adherence, as we see in this film, is a critical aspect, not only of symptom control, but also for relapse prevention. Families can help by encouraging and empowering their loved-one to report when their medication makes them so uncomfortable that they think about not taking them. Families can help prescribing physicians by providing them with a heads-up when early warning signs of relapse or unpleasant side effects occur. I hope that this film will remind the millions who view it to look outside of the theatre to see the “other beautiful minds” whose lives are in daily struggle with schizophrenia and other serious conditions. (I want to credit the “Maximum Crowe” fan site on the Internet for a useful interview with economist and author, Sylvia Nasar. Readers may also wish to visit the Nobel (Prize) committee website for professor Nash’s brief autobiography. These and other Nash sites can be located through Google.com or your own favorite search engine.) |
