Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
(Drama/Biography) (2001)
© 2002 by Raymond Weschler
Major Characters
JohnNash……………………………………………………………….RussellCrowe
One of the greatest mathematical geniuses of the 20th century, who
won the Nobel Prize in 1994, studied and taught at Princeton
University, and suffered from the mental disease of schizophrenia
for most of his adult life (See note on schizophrenia below).
Alicia…………………………………………………………….…………….JenniferConnelly
John’s beautiful, intelligent and loving wife who stayed with him
through decades of marriage, from the 1950s to after 2000, despite the
difficulties of living with a person with severe mental illness.
Parcher……………………………………………………………..………….EdHarris
An agent of the US government who convinces John to help break
secret Soviet codes, in order to prevent a horrible nuclear attack on the
United States (Note: Parcher is not really who he appears to be).
Charles………………………………………………………………………….PaulBettany
John’s roommate at Princeton who studied English literature
(Note: Like Parcher, John is not really who he appears to be).
MartinHansen………………………………………………………………JoshLucas
A brilliant math student at Princeton and colleague of John’s
who later becomes head of the Princeton math department.
Plot Summary
This film is the true story of John Nash, one of the great geniuses of the 20th
century, who was famous for both his theories in math, and for the fact that
he suffered from schizophrenia. The movie follows Nash’s amazing life from
the time he arrives at Princeton University as a young, brilliant and
noticeably odd West Virginia math student, until his life as an old man who
has won the Nobel Prize. Over the years, he becomes recognized as a unique
intellect whose theories have greatly influenced not only mathematics, but
various other academic areas from economics to biology. And as of this
writing in 2002, Nash is still alive, and still teaches at Princeton.
2
The focus of this movie is on Nash’s struggle with the terrible illness of
schizophrenia, which began to effect him while a student at Princeton in the
early 1950s. Afterward, his brilliance led to a teaching and research position at
the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the world
famous university in Boston. There, Nash’s disease began to grow worse, but
fortunately for him, it was also at MIT that he met Alicia, a brilliant math
student of her own. The two fell in love, and while Alicia did not discover
his illness until after they married, once she realized how sick her husband
was, she did all she could to take care of him, herself, and their new son.
With great determination, John Nash was able to successfully fight back from
the delusions that are a large part of schizophrenia, and while he never was
able to get rid of the disease completely, he became an honored member of the
Princeton community. In some ways, his life is a truly fascinating window on
the still unclear relationship between genius and madness.
Most of the film centers around John’s life at two of the best Universities in
the United States. Princeton is located in the small town of Princeton, New
Jersey, about an hour from New York City. When John arrived as a young
student in the late 1940’s, Albert Einstein was still a professor there (He died
in 1955, having been at Princeton for nearly 20 years).
3
It’s the first time the Carnegie Prize has been split and Hansen is all bent .
If a prize is “split,” it is divided between two or more people
(If a person is “bent out of shape,” they are angry or upset; “Bent”
alone, which means twisted or curved, is no longer used for angry).
Neil here broke a Jap code; Help rid the world of fascism.
“Jap” is now considered a racist word for Japanese, though it was
common up through the 1960s. “To rid the world” of something
is to help eliminate it (“Get rid of” is more common).
Is my roommate a dick?
A funny adjective for a jerk, idiot or in certain contexts, a penis.
Maybe you’re better with integers than you are with people.
An “integer” is a mathematical word for a number.
I’ve played enough Go for one day. :: Come on , I hate this game.
“Go” is a famous board game from East Asia. “Come on” is the most
versatile phrasal verb in English, here meaning please, or “be serious.”
Ok….psycho.
A popular slang word for a person who is crazy.
Classes will dull your mind and destroy the potential for authentic creativity.
“To dull” a person’s mind is to make them less intelligent or creative.
If something is “authentic,” it is genuine or true, and “creativity” is the
ability to think, create or make things in new and different ways.
How will it feel when I’m chosen for Wheeler and you’re not?
In this film, Wheeler is the name of a Defense Department institute
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where many very
smart people would love to work.
I don’t know exactly what I’m required to say in order for you to
have intercourse with me, but could we assume I’ve said all that?
“To require” a person to do something is to force or oblige them to do
it. “Intercourse” is a very formal word for sex (i.e.…sexual intercourse).
It’s very clever, but I’m afraid it’s not good enough.
An important word meaning intelligent, skillful or ingenious.
Nash, you might want to stop shuffling your papers for 5 seconds.
“To shuffle” papers is to continue passing them form
one hand to the other, often because of nervousness.
And those who strike out are stuck with their friends.
“To strike out” is to fail doing something
(To strike out in baseball is to fail to hit the ball).
10
You can lead a blond to water but you can’t make her drink.
The original expression is “You can lead a horse to water…”
He may have the upper hand now, but wait until he opens his mouth.
If a person has “the upper hand,” they have the
competitive advantage against others.
If this is some way for you to get the blond on your own, you can go to hell.
“Go to hell” is a crude but softer insult than “fuck you.”
You do realize that this flies in the face of 150 years of economic theory?
If a scientific theory “flies in the face” of another one,
it completely contradicts or goes against the other one.
Has it occurred to you that Sol and Bender might have plans of their own?
If something “occurs to you,” it means that you suddenly
think of it, without others bringing it to your attention.
The computer can’t detect it, but I’m sure it’s a code.
“To detect” something is to see, recognize or understand it.
They appear to be routing orders across the border into the US.
“To rout” an object is to send it to a particular destination.
So not only do they rob me of the Fields Medal, they put me on the
cover of Fortune Magazine with these hacks , these scholars of trivia …
The Fields medal is a very prestigious prize awarded for work in math.
A “hack” is a writer who claims to be doing serious work, but is
only writing for commercial success. A “scholar” is a serious
researcher, and “trivia” refers to unimportant facts or details.
Come on, you know the drill. You get these beautiful facilities and MIT gets
America’s great minds of today teaching America’s great minds of tomorrow.
In this case, “the drill” is the routine things that a person is expected to
do over and over. A “facility” is a building that is used for a special
purpose, such as a hospital or school.
For others among you, it will take you the term of your natural lives.
A formal way of saying “as long as you live.”
13
That’s got a little zap to it, doesn’t it? He just implanted a radio diode.
A “zap” is a sudden burst of energy. “To implant” something is to place
it inside, in this case inside John’s arm. A “radio diode” is a type of
device used to send messages through the air.
15
The isotope decays periodically. As a result, these numbers change over time.
An “isotope” is a type of atom, to “decay” is to fall apart or
crumble, and “periodically” means occasionally over time.
Alicia comes into John’s life, and soon the genius is married.
I took her in .
If you “take in” a person, you allow them to live
with you and often you agree to take care of them.
The job is fine. I have enough money. :: It all seems to add up.
In this case, “it all seems to add up” is a way of saying that
when everything is viewed together, it all makes sense.
I told you attachments were dangerous. You chose to marry the girl.
In this case, an “attachment” is an emotional
attraction or bonding with another person.
Sorry about the restraints. You got one hell of a right hook.
A “restraint” is a rope or strap which is placed around a person to
prevent them from moving. In this context, “hell of a” is a slangy
expression that means very powerful. Here, a “right hook” is the act of
punching like a boxer, in this case with the right fist.
John has schizophrenia. People with this disorder are often paranoid.
A “disorder” is another word for a disease or medical condition.
If a person is “paranoid,” they are convinced other people are
trying to kill or harm them.
As such, his illness may have gone untreated for longer than is typical.
Another word for disease.
Directives come down all the time that some of us aren’t cleared for.
A “directive” is an official order or instruction, and if a person is not
“cleared for” it, they do not have the security clearance which allows
them to receive it.
Administering insulin.
“To administer” a drug is to inject it into the patient’s
body. “Insulin” is a hormone that controls blood sugar.
Squeamish?
An excellent word to describe a person who is easily made nervous
or sick by the sight of such things as blood, needles, snakes, etc…
It’s difficult with the medications because it’s hard to see the solutions.
Another word for medicine or drugs.
Psychological bullshit!
A crude but excellent and widely used word that means
lies, half-truths or more generally, nonsense.
I’m just gonna grab the laundry. :: I’ll draw his bath.
“To grab” something is to quickly or forcefully take it. “To draw”
a bath is a very old-fashioned way of saying to fill it with water.
He’s been injected with a cloaking serum. I can see him because of a chemical
that was released into my bloodstream when my implant dissolved.
“To inject” a medicine is to place it into the body with a needle.
“To cloak” is to hide, and a “serum” is a medicine or drug, but a
“cloaking serum” probably does not really exist! An “implant” is
something placed or hidden in a body, and if something “dissolves,”
it disappears or crumbles into tiny parts.
23
You take care of her, you pathetic piece of shit….or I’ll take care of you!
“Pathetic” is a powerful adjective meaning so bad it’s pitiful.
A “piece of shit” is, of course, a very insulting way to refer to a person
(Note here that “I’ll take care of you” is a threat to hurt or kill).
Come.
Today, few say this. When you hear a knock at the door, say come in.
24
Is this what you are, soldier, some useless ghoul ? The local madman ?
A “ghoul” is a legendary monster that feeds on dead
people in their graves. A “madman” is a crazy person.
And while you rock and drool, the world will burn to ashes!
In this case, “to rock” is to move a rocking chair back and forth.
“To drool” is to let saliva or spit run out of your mouth. “Ashes” are
the material that’s left after something has been destroyed in a fire.
25
I was wondering if I might audit your course. :: It’s an honor Professor Nash.
“To audit” a class is to attend it for the educational value, even though
you are not officially enrolled in it. If something is an “honor,” it is a
privilege or a feeling that causes great pride.
You came here to find out if…I would screw everything up if I actually won.
“To screw up” something is to do it badly, or even destroy it,
or in this case, to cause great embarrassment for all involved.
27
I still see things that are not here. I just choose to not acknowledge them.
“To acknowledge” someone is to recognize them as true or valid.
I’ve believed in numbers, in the equations and logic that lead to reason.
In math, an “equation” is formal statement, such 3+2=5. “Logic” is the
use of formal principles and reasoning (“If A is bigger than B and B is
bigger than C, than A is bigger than C”). In this case, “reason” is the act
of thinking in a logical way.
A Beautiful Mind
2) Would John Nash not have been a genius without the schizophrenia?