"Game of Reason": reviews. The biographical drama of Ron Howard about the life of John Forbes Nash

Psychological biographical drama A Beautiful Mind (in the domestic box office - "Mind Games", 2001) is an original development of an attractive genre and insanity in the film industry. The script is based on the biography of a real-life well-known mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., who in his youth developed a theory of games. In adulthood, he developed a progressive form of paranoid schizophrenia. But thanks to the support of a loving spouse and the will to live, John managed to return to active scientific work and even became a Nobel laureate in 1994. The film "The Game of Reason" in chronological order reflects events from the life of Nash-junior.

More about the story. String

In 1947, John Nash - a student of hope, comes to a town called Princeton. A bit odd, suspicious, he can not find a common language with the surrounding society. John does not even go to classes, but completely immerses himself in research. The career of the young scientist continues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a teacher. Attention Nash rivet Alicia, one of the students. With her, he starts a relationship, the girl will soon become his wife.

John Agent Parcher comes to John, who offers a job in a special department of the CIA. The task is to analyze information published in various open sources. The purpose of the search is secret data. This information, which is exchanged by the enemies of the United States, conspirators. Reports on the work done, John leaves in the mailbox in the specified location. Once during a visit to the destination, Nash is attacked, and he miraculously remains alive.

A sad reality

Soon it turns out that everything he did for the CIA was only in his imagination. A roommate, Agent Parscher and Marcie - John's niece - are invented. Nash has schizophrenia. About the disease finds out Alicia. It seeks to heal the protagonist, opposing his love of disease. Only after a long course of therapy, John takes his illness under control. The scientist continues to hallucinate, but this is no longer dangerous for others, which allows him to return to scientific work. For the discovery of the theory of games Nash gets fame and recognition. During the speech at the awarding of the Nobel Prize, John speaks of how grateful he is to his wife for his support and understanding. Marcy, Partcher and Charles are in the room and listen to John's speech.

How it all began

It all started when producer Brian Grazer caught the eye of Sylvia Nasar's article called "Vanity Fair." This publication talked about the history of a mathematical genius that received worldwide recognition, but at one point lost almost everything because of schizophrenia with echoes of paranoia. The article was a source of inspiration for Brian, he caught on with the idea of creating a movie masterpiece based on the material read.

The drama "The Game of Reason" was created by a truly stellar creative team: filmmaker Ron Howard, already known to the viewer on the works of "Apollo 13" and "Grinch, the Thief of Christmas"; Operator Roger Dickins, who photographed all the good pictures of the Coen brothers; The script was written by Akiva Goldsman, who knows about psychiatric illnesses firsthand - he was born and grew up in a family of professional psychiatrists; And over the musical accompaniment worked Oscar-winning James Horner, who wrote soundtracks for the Titanic.

Acting Casting

To ensure the further success of the film, the producer carefully studied the selection of the main actors. To take part in the film "The Game of Reason", actors should have the ability to express very much without words. Such performers were the brilliant Russell Crowe (John Nash) and the rising Hollywood star Jennifer Connelly (Alicia Lard). Crowe, as expected, demonstrated an ingenious skill. After a strong-willed and determined "Gladiator", his transformation into a weak-willed scientist was discouraging.

Jennifer, despite the poor filmography, under the strict guidance of the director and the experienced partner, also perfectly coped with the task, playing a faithful, patient and endlessly devoted to the husband of the mad genius in the movie "The Game of Reason".

Actors who played minor roles, were a good addition to the benefit Crowe.

Episodes in chronological order

The drama "The Game of Reason" reviews viewers as very plausible, in this, undoubtedly, there is a significant merit of the creators. The director, trying at all costs to convey to the viewer a dense emotional color of history, took the bold decision to shoot the film in such a way as to preserve a strict chronological sequence.

At present, this way films are created extremely rarely. To shoot episodes in chronological order is a real luxury, which few can afford. From the point of view of the organization of the shooting process, this is extremely problematic, but it was so much easier for actors to get used to the role of the characters in the movie "The Game of Reason". Reviews of critics attribute a decisive reason in this structuring of the work of Russell Crowe, however, Ron Howard already had a similar practice during the shooting of the main scenes of "Apollo 13".

The taste and color ...

After the premiere of the movie "The Game of Reason", the whole American press criticized the movie trailer. International film critics have reacted ambiguously to the tape - the majority called it the next exploitation of the topic, successfully covered in "Aroma of a Woman", "Rain Man" and "Awakening". They explained their dissatisfaction with the fact that pressure on the feelings for the sake of success is unprofessional. Others, after watching the movie "The Game of Reason", the reviews left positive, noted that the picture was a success, and the starry creative team tried to glory, having done everything at the highest level. As a result, the tape did not receive any of the supposed eight "Oscars", which caused the viewer to have an ironic attitude. Many compatriots accuse the picture of hyperbolized political correctness and undisguised propaganda of the notorious American way of life.

Orientation to Sentimentalism

Not without reason, the picture "The Game of Reason" reviews are called the next exploitation of the burning topics. Different directors relied more or less on the sentimentalism of the viewer, many shot biographical dramas. But the stylistic virtue does not exclude those unsightly moments that exist in each such picture, not an exception and the "Game of Reason".

Similar films are distinguished by a fine acting game, but the most important feature of them is an interesting plot in the author's interpretation. And skeptics will still find in them a flaw like the tears of viewers after watching the movie. If you try to pick up films like "The Game of Reason", similar films should be searched in the section "Biographical drama" or "drama with elements of a thriller." Among the above examples, the following will be the brightest examples: "My Left Foot", "Philadelphia", "Clever Will Hunting", "Pi", "Social Network", "Game of Imitation", "Secret Window" and "The Universe of Stephen Hawking" .

One of many

The film "The Game of Reason" is a movie masterpiece, which you want to revise constantly, each time finding something new. The creators succeeded in bringing to perfection the world surrounding the central characters, authentically recreating the distant period of the Cold War, reaching an ideal balance between the scenery and acting. Professional work can be recognized if you observe how the frame is constructed. If the picture consists primarily of the actors' big plans, then the creators lacked either skill or budget. To draw any conclusions, it is necessary to watch the movie "The Game of Reason", the trailer does not give a full representation. He does not show that, in addition to the intriguing story in the picture, there is an atmosphere carefully re-created by the directors according to eyewitness accounts.