Beautiful mind, courageous heart

"What is as important as a beautiful mind is a courageous heart."

This is one of the best movie lines I have heard. Incidentally, this line came from one of the best movies I have seen – A Beautiful Mind.

A Beautiful Mind is the heart-wrenching yet concomitantly inspiring true story of the Nobel Prize laureate John Nash. This Princeton mathematician/economist plumbed into the depths of schizophrenia which ruined his career, family life, and reputation but through sheer grit, determination, and with the help of his loving wife Alice, eventually redeemed himself. He was even bestowed one of the most coveted prizes in the academic/intellectual community–the Nobel Prize (in Economics).

The movie offers a glimpse into the celebrated mathematician’s sufferings. From a brilliant student to a young, promising professor in one of the best universities in the world (Princeton) he gradually succumbed to schizophrenia.

John Nash was excellently portrayed by the brilliant Russell Crowe. Through Crowe’s performance, one can glean how a schizophrenic struggles with the disease. As portrayed in the movie, Nash sees people who are actually not there. He converses with relatives or acquaintances he had not seen for a long time but are just reenacted by his imagination. For somebody who is well-educated, well-respected, and who has a very, very promising future, to be afflicted with the (at the time) baffling disease of schizophrenia is the biggest blow one could be dealt with. Luckily for Nash, his very patient and understanding wife Alice (portrayed by Jennifer Connelly whose fine performance gave her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) was with him through thick and thin.

John Nash’s struggle as a schizophrenic is so palpable throughout the movie, you cannot but empathize with him. Anybody would feel crushed knowing one of the best minds of his generation is being slowly wasted and rendered useless by a stealthy, malevolent disease.

Yet, what’s awe-inspiring in the movie is how John Nash emerged triumphant from the disease which almost took everything away from him. He fought not just with his intellect but more so with his guts, heart, and will. This part of the movie brings to mind the fair advice from well-meaning psychology experts that sheer intelligence may not be enough as any person goes through life’s vicissitudes. One may also need to master his heart, willpower, and emotions (now collectively called "emotional intelligence" ). As Connelly’s Alice reminds us: "What is as important as a beautiful mind is a courageous heart."

Indeed, John Nash would not be able to overcome his illness if he lacked willpower, determination and emotional fortitude. Despite all his brilliance and intelligence, it is his emotional fortitude coupled with the support, love, and empathy of his family and friends which made him win over his debilitating illness.

What made this movie especially meaningful to me is the fact that I have always been oriented to use my head more than my emotions. I have always put a premium on intelligence. I believe there are many people out there who are also like that. For me, I.Q. could be the be-all and end-all in this game called life. To wax poetic about it, reason is my primary weapon whenever I am faced with life’s sticky situations. The movie taught me that there are many other human endowments as important, if not more important, than intellect. No matter how brilliant a person is, he still needs the support, attention and help of family and friends.

The beautiful thing about the movie is its timeless and familiar theme of struggle and triumph, a theme which undoubtedly creates a resounding echo in every moviegoer’s heart. The movie makes us realize our humanity: that is, anybody–whether you are one of the world’s most brilliant persons (or for that matter, extremely rich or extremely talented) or not – can have his fair share of life’s obstacles. The wonderful thing about life and being human though is that there is always a great possibility that we can overcome whatever stumbling blocks come our way. What it takes is both mental and emotional fortitude.

The movie’s most heart-tugging line (also the line used in the movie’s ads and promotional materials) deserves to be written on an index card to be continuously carried around in one’s pocket. This line deserves to be repeated over and over: "What is as important as a beautiful mind is a courageous heart."

I could not agree more!