If you read the title, I know you’re thinking, ‘wow, just three, this guys has no idea what he’s talking about’. Admittedly, I went to the internet to try and find any more than the three I have here. But everyone else I read on the lists were just geniuses that the stories themselves were not necessarily about them: Doc Brown from Back to the Future, Jimmy Neutron, Revenge of the Nerds etc, etc. I decided against including these geniuses in my list due to the fact that they weren’t technically ‘biopics’, so all we have now are these three movies that completely center around these extremely interesting characters. And I used the quoted ‘Biopics’ because technically one of them isn’t based on a true story. I’ve included the trailer for each of the movies, but it’s hilarious and sad at the same time how they don’t carry the significantly emotional tone each of the films have in the 2 minute preview. Hit the jump for more.
John Nash in a Beautiful Mind
The story of a bright mathematician (Russell Crowe) gone psychologically nuts and drives his beautiful wife (Jennifer Connelly) and his peers away from him. This is the real life story of John Nash, a Nobel Prize winner in Economics, from his early life to his later years. John Nash (Crowe) is an ambitious student gifted with an uncanny ability to decifer codes. When paranoia sets in, he risks his sanity and home-life dealing with death threats and a government agent (Ed Harris) who seems to follow him wherever he goes. With powerful acting and an inspiring story of how one can overcome the toughest of psychological hardships, I definitely recommend you to watch this fantastic movie.
Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting
Another inspiring tale of how a janitor at MIT can be smarter than any of the students there. Another. Oh wait, there are no others tales of that nature now are there. Good Will Hunting is the story of Will Hunting, a highly intellectual young man who lives in a dump of a neighborhood and works as a construction worker/janitor. When he is discovered to have more intellectual talent than many of the students that attends the college he custodians at, an acclaimed professor and a high school psychology teacher try to shape him into an adult. Sharp dialogue and powerful acting by the young Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, along with a great performance by Robin Williams make this film one of the more inspiring films I’ve seen.
Frank Abagnaile in Catch Me If You Can
Frank Abagnaile isn’t like other two geniuses on this list in terms of intellect. But I dare you to find me someone who isn’t a genius who can con his way into flying airplanes, becoming a doctor without going to medical school, and passing the Bar Exam for being a lawyer without a formal education. The real life story of Frank Abagnaile, his multiple impersonations, and his multi-million bank fraud streak is brought to life by Steven Spielberg in the movie Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the leading man and Tom Hanks as the FBI agent chasing him across the world. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, shame on you. Any movie with Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg should’ve been in your movie vault years ago.
I debated putting Howard Hughes from Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, but it just didn’t seem right. I dunno, what do you guys think? Did I miss any?
Does The Social Network count?
Social Network does count, I don’t know how I forgot that. Mark Zuckerberg definitely deserved to be put on that list. Thanks for letting me know.