Nov 4 2014
Amarpreet Kaur Grewal
301221829
Film Review Assignment
Identifying and Dealing With Schizophrenia
For a film to accurately portray a mental illness, characters that come to life in terms of how they are depicted in every action, and their persona is vital. In Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind” Russell Crowe elegantly captures the positive symptoms and standard characteristics displayed by ones suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Despite minor supplants, through Russell Crowe’s representation of John Nash, “A Beautiful Mind” provides an appropriate overview of schizophrenia as an intricate disorder with an altered view of reality. By the same token, there have been advances in treating this ailment today that were …show more content…
For instance, in the beginning of the film when John meets Hansen, everyone in the circle is cautious around John and unsure of how to react towards him. As John walks away Hansen sarcastically says, “Gentlemen, meet John Nash” in a snickering tone to make fun of his odd behaviour. Thus, right off the bat, the audience watching the film get the sense that John is different from the rest and does not fit in. Henceforth, as an audience member, I too deemed it acceptable to laugh or smile at John’s peculiar speech or actions. Accordingly, when these same classmates encounter John observing the birds, Sol asks John what he is doing to which John’s reply is that he is hoping to extract an algorithm to define their movement. This eccentric response leaves Sol to mutter to the group that John is a psycho in a jesting manner. This further enables the audience to view John as strange and joke about his proud or unconventional behaviour. As well, in the bar John’s friends urge him to chase a girl as they watch him fail due to his straightforward personality lacking emotional tact. This scene causes audience members to laugh at John’s predicament and mannerisms as the girl slaps him. Nevertheless, the reasons for John’s behaviours are ultimately the result of schizophrenia and might be part of the disorder. In the latter stages of John’s disease, after Parcher is introduced into his hallucinations, there are extracts offering humour wherein the audience laughs at him. For example, after the car chase, John looks out the window in his classroom and is extremely suspicious of the black cars that he assumes are holding Russian spies. He is surprised when there is nothing to worry about as kids jump out of the car. When he turns back to his class and simply walks out, everyone stares at him in