The Lord of the Rings and A Beautiful Mind, the primary challengers for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, represent the best of two divergent cinematographic genres: an epic fantasy adventure and a psychological drama based on a true story. The two films accounted for 21 nominations made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Having seen both movies, I understand the tough decision that Academy voters faced in their selection process for best picture. Critics could easily make a convincing argument for the merits of either film.
A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard, humanizes the grim nature of mental illness and explores the puzzling relationship between genius and insanity. The film was recently honored as best drama at the Golden Globes. It stars Russell Crowe as John Nash, a brilliant mathematician who suffered from schizophrenia for fifty years before winning the Nobel Prize in economics, for his pioneering analysis of equilibria in non-cooperative game theory. A Beautiful Mind’s emotional, compelling plot moved me almost to tears at the theatre.
Although the intentional omission of some of the darkest elements in Nash’s life by Howard has incited considerable controversy among members of the motion picture industry, it’s highly doubtful that that particular criticism influenced the Academy’s choice.
Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first in a planned trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s popular literary works, earned best film honors from The American Film Institute and The Orange British Academy. The surrealistic movie depicts the perilous quest by Hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) to destroy the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron at the seat of his power, Mount Doom. The Lord of the Rings so accurately portrays scenes in the novel’s intricate plot that it would almost appear that Tolkien himself had directed it—despite the fact that Tolkien died more than 28 years ago. As an avid fan of Tolkien’s fantasy writing, I was exceptionally pleased with the film’s life-like representation of his characters and had been anticipating its release in theatres for more than a year. Lord of the Rings is a magnificent counterpart to a set of novels whose plot and characters helped to launch the modern fascination with fantasy adventures.
However, A Beautiful Mind seems to be a much more logical choice for Best Picture. It has all of the elements that critics would anticipate a best picture of the year to include: stirring emotion, captivating action, spectacular individual acting, and beautifully designed scenes. A Beautiful Mind will also take home best actress and best screenplay. The Lord of the Rings will probably win for best directing, in addition to best writing (adapted screenplay), best cinematography, best film editing, and best musical score.
Other movies that you can expect to come away with Oscars this year include Gosford Park, a murder mystery set in the 1930s; Moulin Rouge, a creative story of a 19th Century love affair in Paris; Training Day, a fast-paced police drama; and Shrek, a humorous animated film based on a children’s story by William Steig. The Sunday telecast of the 74th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, can be seen on the ABC television network at 8 pm. (The preview show starts at 7 pm.)
Editor’s Note: Some information provided by imdb.com, oscars.com, and Knight Ridder Tribune.
