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A Beautiful Mind.
"A Beautiful Mind," directed by Ron Howard and released in 2001, is a captivating

biographical drama that takes viewers on an emotional rollercoaster through the life of John

Nash, an extraordinary mathematician, and Nobel laureate. Starring Russell Crowe as John Nash,

Jennifer Connelly as his devoted wife Alicia Nash, and Ed Harris as the mysterious William

Parcher, the film skillfully weaves together academic brilliance, love, and the harsh realities of

mental illness. The movie is based on Sylvia Nasar's 1998 biography of the mathematician John

Forbes Nash, Jr., a Nobel Laureate in Economics. The film offers a poignant exploration of

Nash’s academic brilliance, his struggle with schizophrenia, and the profound impact on his

personal and professional life.

Plot Summary:

The film begins with John Nash's arrival at Princeton University in the 1940s, where he

quickly establishes himself as a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician. John spent most of

his time at Princeton alone and working. John was under a great deal of stress as he was in his

final year and was yet to publish his paper. We are introduced to his Prodigal roommate, Charles.

John develops revolutionary theories in economics and accepts a position at MIT. At MIT, John

works with Sol and Bender, his friends. While working at MIT, John was sometimes called in for

Consultation by the Government. He then soon attracts the attention of a mysterious Department

of Defense agent, William Parche, who says they need John’s help to stop the Russians. Nash

also falls in love with Alicia Larde, a student at the university, and they eventually marry.

As Nash's career flourishes, and Alicia becomes pregnant, he becomes increasingly

plagued by paranoid delusions and hallucinations, ultimately leading to hospitalization and a

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diagnosis of schizophrenia. At the Mental institution, John receives Insulin Coma/shock therapy,

after almost an year of treatment, Alica and John move back to Princeton so that John can be

close to a familiar environment and recover. However John eventually stops taking his

Antipsychotics and relapses. Against Dr.Rosen’s advice, Alicia and John decide not to get John

hospitalized and try to get better at home. John eventually starts ignoring his hallucinations and

gets back to teaching and later on goes to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in 1994.

The movie is based on John Forbers Nash, Jr., who was widely regarded as one of the

great mathematicians of the 20th century. John F. Nash is the only person who has been awarded

both the Economic Sciences Prize and the Abel Prize. Even though the movie has done an

excellent job at portraying schizophrenia, it has been criticized for everything it changes and

leaves out from the true story. Some of the creative liberties taken in the movie were The Pen

Ceremony at Princeton, The Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, The Wheeler Lab at MIT and

overdramatization of John’s hallucination. A beautiful mind skips over Alicia and John’s divorce

which happened in 1963 however the couple remarried in 2001. The movie also never shows or

mentions John’s first child with a Boston nurse called Eleanor Stier. Although John Nash had in

real life stopped taking medication in 1970, in the movie while talking to Thomas King, he says

that he takes the newer medication. Ron Howard justified that this creative liberty was a decision

taken to ensure that people with schizophrenia don’t misinterpret the movie and stop their

medication. At the age of 86, John Nash passed away in a car accident in 2015, along with his

wife, Alicia Nash.

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John Nash suffers from Schizophrenia. But what is Schizophrenia?

According to the National Institution of Mental Health, Schizophrenia is a serious mental

illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem

like they have lost touch with reality, which can be distressing for them and for their family and

friends.

Schizophrenia comes under the cluster of Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic

Disorders of DSM-5. The DSM-5 CRITERIA FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA is as follows:

A. Two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a

1-month period (or less if successfully treated). At least one of these must be (1), (2), or

(3):

1.Delusions.

2.Hallucinations.

3.Disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence).

4.Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior.

5.Negative symptoms (i.e., diminished emotional expression or avolition).

B. For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, level of

functioning in one or more major areas, such as work, interpersonal relations, or

self-care, is markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset (or when the onset is in

childhood or adolescence, there is failure to achieve expected level of interpersonal,

academic, or occupational functioning).

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C. Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least 6 months. This 6-month period

must include at least 1 month of symptoms (or less if successfully treated) that meet

Criterion A (i.e., active-phase symptoms) and may include periods of prodromal or

residual symptoms. During these prodromal or residual periods, the signs of the

disturbance may be manifested by only negative symptoms or by two or more symptoms

listed in Criterion A present in an attenuated form (e.g., odd beliefs, unusual perceptual

experiences).

D. Schizoaffective disorder and depressive or bipolar disorder with psychotic features have

been ruled out because either 1) no major depressive or manic episodes have occurred

concurrently with the active-phase symptoms, or 2) if mood episodes have occurred

during active-phase symptoms, they have been present for a minority of the total duration

of the active and residual periods of the illness.

E. The disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug

of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.

F. If there is a history of autism spectrum disorder or a communication disorder of

childhood onset, the additional diagnosis of schizophrenia is made only if prominent

delusions or hallucinations, in addition to the other required symptoms of schizophrenia,

are also present for at least 1 month (or less if successfully treated).

John’s Symptoms as seen in the movie were

1. Delusions: John suffered Persecutory delusion. He believed that the Russians

were behind him.

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2. Hallucinations: Charles, Marcee and William Parcher were John Hallucinations

and never actually existed.

3. Lack of interpersonal relations and self-care

4. Disorganized Speech

5. Abnormal Motor Behaviour

6. Diminished emotional expression

7. Asociality

John’s symptoms started manifesting in his 20’s according to the movie which is the most

common period during which schizophrenia signs start showing. The cause of schizophrenia

could be Genetic or Environmental. As for John cause we know little of his life and family but

stress was definitely one of the causes.

John’s Treatment included Insulin Shock Therapy and Antipsychotic medication which

John discontinued complaining that he is unable to think clearly and lack of interest in sexual

activity. Later in the movie, he says he has started the” newer medication”. With the medications

John is able to continue living his daily life, working and living with his family.

The movie, A Beautiful Mind, overall did a fantastic job at portraying schizophrenia and

helping viewers better understand the illness, the struggle of the person struggling from it and the

difficulties faced by the caregivers. The dialogue by Dr.Rosen while talking to Alicia about

schizophrenia sums up just how devastating schizophrenia is.

Dr. Rosen: Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most

important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell

would that be?

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The movie sends out a positive message to those suffering from the illness that they can

still continue to live their life. A film like this helps reduce stigma around mental

disorders. I would definitely recommend this movie to all my friends and family.
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References

1. Goode, E. (2015, May 24). John F. Nash Jr., math genius defined by a “beautiful mind,”

dies at 86. The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/science/john-nash-a-beautiful-mind-subject-and-no

bel-winner-dies-at-86.html

2. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel 1994.

(n.d.). NobelPrize.org.

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1994/nash/facts/

3. How Realistic Is 'A Beautiful Mind'? - ABC News