Oscar Loves... Playing Mind Games

<p>This month our Oscarologists gather to discuss two Best Picture winners that explore neurodivergence and mental illness... to very different degrees of success.</p> <p>Barry Levinson's <em>Rain Man</em> tells the story of Charlie Babitt – played by Tom Cruise – who discovers he has a secret brother with savant syndrome, Raymond, played by Dustin Hoffman, who went on to win the Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his role.</p> <p>In <em>A Beautiful Mind</em>, directed by Ron Howard, Russell Crowe portrays John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia throughout his life. Jennifer Connelly portrays his wife, Alicia, winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role.</p> <p>Thank you to Thomas Whitelaw for our intro music and Rachel Valentine Smith for our artwork.</p>