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Storyline
At Princeton University, John Nash struggles to make a worthwhile contribution to serve as his legacy to the world of mathematics. He finally makes a revolutionary breakthrough that will eventually earn him the Nobel Prize. After graduate school he turns to teaching, becoming romantically involved with his student Alicia. Meanwhile the government asks his help with breaking Soviet codes, which soon gets him involved in a terrifying conspiracy plot. Nash grows more and more paranoid until a discovery that turns his entire world upside down. Now it is only with Alicia's help that he will be able to recover his mental strength and regain his status as the great mathematician we know him as today. |
Backdrops
The Director
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American actor, director and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later as the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years. He made film appearances such as in American Graffiti in 1973 and while starring in Happy Days he also made The Shootist in 1976, as well as making his directorial debut with the 1977 comedy film Grand Theft Auto. He left Happy Days in 1980 to focus on directing, and has since gone on to direct several films, including the Oscar winning Cocoon, Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Ron Howard, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
User Reviews
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Shutter Island
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It's 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his sidekick Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are on the ferry to Shutter Island. The island could be Alcatraz, except that instead of criminals, it houses the criminally insane. One of their inmates has apparently escaped, and Daniels and Aule have been sent to investigate. But the investigator turns out to be the one being investigated.
Shutter Island gets off to a fairly good start. It does a competent job of building the apparently normal, but-you-know-something-is-going-on atmosphere. Ben Kingsley is nice and creepy as the frosty psychiatrist Dr. Cawley. You just know that he and his team are hiding a Dark Secret. However, it quickly goes downhill, and like Daniels, I was also searching for a way to abandon the island at the half-way point. It picks up again in the second half, but just around the point where you think it's going to get interesting, you realise you've seen it all before. That said, even though the dénouement is predictable, it's done well enough to stick with to the end.
Acting-wise, the only one worth watching is Ben Kingsley. He plays the ambiguous Dr. Cawley to perfection, and sent a little shiver down my spine each time he appeared on screen. Leonardo DiCaprio never rises above his usual 'Hello I'm Leonardo DiCaprio playing a character in a film' performance (apologies to his fans, but I just don't rate him) and Mark Ruffalo as the sidekick is unremarkable.
It's 20 years since Scorcese made Goodfellas (1990), 22 years since 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (1988), 30 years on from 'Raging Bull' (1980) and 34 years since 'Taxi Driver' (1976). I can't help feeling he's losing his...
View full review
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reviewed by cliodhna (Filmaster.com) on the 4th of March 2010
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Fantastic Film.