BY LARRY CARROLL | "A Beautiful Mind" is a very special film, a dramatic masterpiece that may very well be showered with awards in the months to come. It also just may be the best action film of the year. At first glance the movie, which showcases a breathtakingly awesome performance by Russell Crowe as Nobel Prize winning mathematician John Nash, might look like anything but an action film, but let's consider this for a moment. In the spirit of Dr. Nash, I shall use the Scientific Method:

Step One: Observe Some Aspect of the Universe

For the purposes of our experiment, we will be observing the newest film from director Ron Howard ("Apollo 13", "Backdraft", "Ransom"), entitled "A Beautiful Mind".

Step Two: Invent a tentative description, called a hypothesis, that is consistent with what you have observed.

My hypothesis is that if a film possesses the same qualities that have characterized the greatest action films of years past, and it has a higher quality of these elements than any other film released in the year 2001, then it could be declared as "The Best Action Film of 2001".

Step Three: Use the hypothesis to make predictions.

I predict that audiences will find that "A Beautiful Mind" has a great knack for escapist entertainment. I predict that the film will take them somewhere they rarely get to go, into the mind of a genius.

I also predict that the film will succeed based on the strong identities of its characters. The greatest action heroes - whether they are Rocky, James Bond or John McClane - are the ones that are the most memorable, whose names we'll never forget and whose struggles connect with us. By the time "A Beautiful Mind" is finished, viewers will have developed such a symbiotic relationship with John Nash. And just as those characters wouldn't be as memorable without the strong supporting performances of others, such excellent work is present here as well. James Bond needs a strong Bond girl to work, to fully make him who he is. Similarly, Nash needs a woman to assist him in his journey, and although his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) is a long way from Octopussy, her performance is the spotlight that allows her man to shine. Above all else, what's an action hero without a great bad-guy to fight against? Ed Harris, as the mysterious William Parcher, proves to be a terrifying adversary to Nash. Harris delivers as he makes us wonder which of these men is really in charge of the "Beautiful Mind".

I predict that audiences will find the movie to be suspenseful, dramatic and intelligently constructed, and I predict that there are several scenes that audiences will never be able to forget, all signs of a great action film. Finally, I predict that people will find the direction by Ron Howard to be superb. Howard doesn't try to steal the show away from the actors, but he steps in at just the right times to use tricks of the trade that enhance his story (Notice the ways in which he makes letters and numbers light up to illustrate Nash's brainpower, or the way that colors of the scenery change with Nash's mindset). Many people thought Howard deserved an Oscar nomination for "Apollo 13", but his direction on this film is much better. Here, an Oscar would be more appropriate, and well deserved.

Step Four: Test those predictions by experiments or further observations and modify the hypothesis in the light of your results.

My first prediction was that audiences would find the movie to be a great source of escapism, a film that essentially makes you feel like you are John Nash. Just as "Superman" made you feel you could fly, or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" made you feel like a fearless adventurer, the film has moments where you experience what it's like to be one of the most brilliant minds in the world. You become Nash in several regards - in actions, in intellect and in state of mind.

The film begins with Nash as a student at Princeton in 1947. "A Beautiful Mind" may not be trying to be an action film in the traditional sense, but it goes that way when Nash joins forces with the CIA upon graduation. It is here that he meets Parcher, who puts him to work breaking codes. When Parcher and Nash work together, the sparks they create are terrific and the tension rivals any great spy movie. When Parcher is on screen, you never know what will happen next, or how Nash will react.

Intellectually, Nash has no superior. During the scenes where he is at Princeton or working for the government, the story shows you what it's like to have such a mind. This is where the film particularly excels; some films may make you feel charismatic or sexy or strong, but how many make you feel like you have a Nobel Prize winning mind?

Then there's Nash's state of mind. I want to be careful here and not give too much away, because many of the film's pleasures lie in its secrets. Nash goes through many different changes, however, and Howard and writer Akiva Goldsman's story structure does a tremendous job of keeping you in line with Nash's state.

I think I proved that part of my hypothesis pretty well. What was next? Ah yes, the characters. John Nash is not a strong man, nor is he charismatic or handsome. In fact, he's the opposite of all three. But his talents drag you in, make you want to be like him, and then you go along for the ride. Needless to say, this is due to the exceptional acting of Russell Crowe. From "Romper Stomper" to "LA Confidential", "The Insider" to "Gladiator" Crowe has shown that he is the real deal. With this movie he shows that he can play any type of man, big or small, dim-witted or brilliant, old or young, and even Crowe's critics will be wowed by this performance. Over the course of the movie he ages fifty years, becomes a hero and an outcast, acts shy and aloof at times and heroic at others, and at times he needs to act with two different sets of actors simultaneously. John Nash is a character that you will not soon forget, part Forrest Gump, part...ah, forget it - you've never seen a character like this before. If Russell Crowe doesn't win the Oscar for Best Actor, then the whole awards show should just be disassembled.

The actor who will gain the most here, however, is Connelly. It has been said that behind every great man stands a woman, but here you see that a woman is the greatness that makes any man. Without the support of Alicia, Nash would undoubtedly collapse under the strains that come about over the course of his life. She stands by him, and we understand that it's not so much love, but a sense of obligation that keeps her there. Alicia leads a very difficult life as the result of her marriage to John, but she knows that staying is the right thing to do. There is a scene at the end of the movie where Nash thanks his wife, says he loves her, and says that he wouldn't be successful if not for her. These are overused words of thanks that you hear in speeches all the time - but they actually have meaning here. This is all due to the superb work of Connelly.

Ed Harris, unfortunately, will probably not get as much recognition as the other two leads in this movie. When you are an actor of Harris' caliber, your job is to make your performance look easy. And Harris has made so many great performances look easy over the years that this will probably be another one thrown on the pile. His role could have been cartoonish, it could've easily turned into a stereotype of government agents during the era, but Harris won't allow it. He is masterful, acting as a deranged tour guide for Nash's brain. Strong performances are also present from Adam Goldberg, Christopher Plummer and, of all people, Judd Hirsch.

Part of my hypothesis is that an audience will find "A Beautiful Mind" to be suspenseful, dramatic and intelligently constructed, and I think I've already stated enough reasons to support these arguments. If you want further proof, you should just go see the movie. What should have been a boring film about a Math geek has been successfully turned into a film as exciting as any summer popcorn movie could hope to be. And it was done while keeping its smarts in tact. There was one major problem, however, that I had with this film. It was directed by Ron Howard, and so the question demands to be answered: "Where's Clint?"

Step Five: Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between theory and experiment and/or observation.

Well, I think I've proven all my points effectively, in a way that would make John Nash proud. Now I guess all I have to do is prove that there were no great action films produced this year.

Let's see..."Tomb Raider", "The Mummy Returns", "Swordfish", "Jurassic Park 3", "Driven"...

This science thing is easier than I thought.

Grade: A