A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany

Have I Seen It Before: Oh, sure. Hell, there was a stretch there in the early 2000s where watching the movie, or listening to the score (that carried over to the 2020s, now that I think about it) were just about the only thing that could get me through any sort of brain freeze on a school project. That’s probably less than healthy, now that I’m really thinking about it.

Did I Like It: The odd thing about revisiting media that you know well but haven’t taken in more than a few years, there are things you never noticed before that now you can’t help but fixate on. Think Danny Pudi being one of the Santos campaign staffers in the last season of The West Wing, like the whole show was a Community prequel this whole time, and I never noticed. Here, Anthony Rapp—not the wide-eyed kid from Adventures in Babysitting (1987) mind you, but a discernably grown Rapp—runs around as one of Nash’s (Crowe) mathematician colleagues, and I’m left wondering someone is going to break the Prime Directive before everything is said and done. It really shouldn’t be difficult to separate an actor from the role with I most identify them, but when they were stealthily there the whole time, it’s just spooky.

Is that a sufficient criticism of the movie? Probably not, but it is the “new thought” I had to share, to be sure. Howard does tend to be the most journeyman among his elite level of filmmaking peers, and this is one of those examples. Strip away the James Horner score, the Roger Deakins cinematography, and most of the performances, and what you have is not much more evolved than a TV movie-of-the-week from days of old.

But how can you strip that many elements away from a film before you make assess it. Time may have been altogether kind to it, but it still tugs at all of the emotions that it wants to target.

A Knight’s Tale (2001)

Director: Brian Helgeland

Cast: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany

Have I Seen it Before: Never, which elicited a fair degree of shock from Lora… I have a vague recollection of it being the centerpiece of a girl’s night that my girlfriend at the time and her friends went to on opening weekend…

Christ, I’m already exhausted writing about this movie.

Did I Like It: The strengths of the movie are fairly easy to quantify. Health Ledger was both a discernible movie star, and a nimble actor in equal measure, and people were beginning to sense that even at the point this film was released. He was probably at the height of his popularity as a heartthrob here, and there are far dumber reasons to make a movie than it has attracted the interest of a handsome man with an Australian accent. 

A modernly wry take on Chaucer certainly is something that would have attracted more than a little top-flight talent, which then fills out the cast with more than a few stellar supporting talents. It’s a fun idea for a movie, if nothing else.

But then there’s the actual movie itself. The soundtrack choices, too, are clearly supposed to be fun. But who are they actually for? I kind of like many of those songs, and I couldn’t help but find them distracting and betraying a deep self-consciousness on the part of the filmmakers. The teeny-boppers of the era would have found the then-classic rock passé (believe me, they certainly did when they were what was playing on my radio at the time), and anyone who might be in the demographic for the film now would find the whole exercise preposterous in the extreme.

Not everybody can be James Dean, ultimately. And even those that can approach the legend-cut-down-too-soon status can’t make a great film every time they step in front of a camera.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Director: Peter Weir

Cast: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D’Arcy, Robert Pugh

Have I Seen it Before: Never, and I’m not entirely sure why. It was Oscar bait in one of those years where I saw everything, regardless of whether it was award worthy or not. Hell, I saw Gigli (2003) twice*, what was stopping me here?

Did I Like It: Right out of the gate, I can tell I’m going to forgive this movie any number of sins it might commit for the rest of its runtime. I was first introduced to the idea by the DVD commentaries of Nicholas Meyer, but I fully admit someone else may have originated from someone else. Nearly every movie that is set in a historical—or for that matter, fantastical—era naturally gravitates to be a product the age in in which it is made. Between the choices in cinematography, costuming, and dialogue choices, one can guess when a film was made within about five years. Hell, choices in hairdressing alone can tip a film’s hand almost immediately.

I don’t know if this film will continue to age as well, but it could have easily been made last year, or even thirty years ago, instead being only seventeen years old. All too often, the artists behind cinema produce their work aiming only at the initial exhibition. Every movie ever made is going to spend the near totality of its existence on TVs in the years to follow. More filmmakers should have in the back of their mind how their films will play in the years to come. Weir should be commended for this.

The story might be faulted for being too simple, but I think it is another secret strength. If the plot can be whittled down to its basic elements (the British ship has some problems while hunting an enemy French vessel, prevails honorably, but at a cost) then the delicate work of the photography and other artistry can shine through.

*Although only once in the theater. Even I have my limits.