Toodles Lost His Marbles

This week’s (March 7-13/14) Movie of the Week is… A Beautiful Mind!

Ever feel so hurt and alone you couldn’t stop crying? Ever get so frustrated you felt your insides would explode in uncontrollable rage? Ever feel such despair and hopelessness that you convinced yourself you were/are a failure? None of us should experience these feelings alone, nor should anyone of us believe that we simply have to “get over” these feelings, deny them, push them down deep into a secret place and “press on.” This to me is a weird combination of self-centeredness and self-neglect and can destroy the best of us.

Yes, I have been to a professional counselor. Several times throughout my life and if I could afford it I would make it a regular thing.

Nothing wrong with that statement is there? You read it and I doubt you are shocked or bothered in any way by it. Still, it was hard for me to write it down, especially knowing it will be read. Will you think I’m crazy? Will you think I’m damaged? In some ways I am a little bit of both of those things, I suppose, but aren’t we all in one way or another?

The fact is, none of us have perfect mental health any more than we have perfect physical health. I have good blood pressure but my back is bad. Perhaps you have perfect teeth but you’ve always battled with joint pain or weight. We can freely talk about those things but it’s tough to talk about our brains when they are needing medical attention. For some of us it may even be near impossible to talk about. It’s just too painful.

That’s one of the things I love about A Beautiful Mind. It acknowledges a serious mental health condition but leaves the viewer celebrating the courage and great life of its bearer and leaves the movie-goer with a sense that John Nash is a hero who overcame.

Nash’s journey of dealing with mental health in light of (and in contrast to) his gifts of mental genius is intriguing. Ron Howard does a great job getting us, the audience, to also experience this confusion of trying to figure out what is real and what isn’t. This is a story that just had to be told, but it took gifted writers (and director) to see the possibilities of its relevance to all of us.

Congratulations A Beautiful Mind. This is your week.

And the Oscar goes to:Best Actress: Jennifer Connelly. This might be the first time someone gets a “best” recognition two weeks in a row. She is such a great actor and does a great job playing the role of the same character at different ages of life. Best Actor: Tom Hulce. I always thought his performance as Mozart was overshadowed by F. Murray Abraham, who won best actor for his role as Salieri. I should make a quick mention, however of Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and (especially) Morgan Freeman who were all awesome in Unforgiven. Best Quote: “What I said the other day, you looking like me, that ain’t true. You ain’t ugly like me, it’s just that we both have got scars.” from Unforgiven

Call me crazy, but being called crazy should be right up there with being called four-eyes. Just a mean name that ought to be shrugged off as something people say to others to try and feel better about themselves. We all have imperfections. We all suffer. Let’s get through it together.