THE CAST and crew of A Beautiful Mind will be clearing mantelpieces and preparing acceptance speeches for the Oscars on March 24.

Ron Howard's biopic of mathematics genius John Forbes Nash Jr is a powerful film, with an intelligent screenplay and searing

performances from Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly.

Unfortunately, there's also something slightly unsatisfying about the whole experience.

Maybe it's the softening of Nash's (Crowe)

notoriously brusque personality, or the omission of his acrimonious divorce from wife Alicia.

Perhaps it's the reluctance to delve into the darker aspects of Nash's psyche as detailed in Sylvia Nasar's biography, from which the film takes its name.

Overall, the sum of A Beautiful Mind's parts don't quite add up. But Nash's story is

awe-inspiring. Accepted into Princeton during the late 1940s, he formulated a revolutionary game theory, which changed the face of modern

mathematics.

He was briefly enlisted as a code-breaker for the US government, before paranoid schizophrenia destroyed his self-respect and confidence.

But Nash's young wife Alicia (Connelly) stood by him, and together they bravely battled against the illness.

He continued to work, returning to a teaching post at Princeton, and in 1994 Nash was finally awarded the Nobel Prize.

Crowe's central performance is mesmerising and his transformation from academic celebrity to delusional lost soul is heartbreaking.

Connelly's supporting turn as his long-suffering wife is equally lustrous. Both actors will be hot favourites to land their respective Academy Awards.

Impeccable performances from Ed Harris, Paul Bettany and Josh Lucas round out the impressive ensemble cast.

Akiva Goldman's screenplay cleverly illustrates Nash's real and imaginary worlds, allowing us into the scarred mind of a genius.

Brilliant but deeply flawed.