Film finds that maths plus Crowe is winning formula

A film based on the true story of a schizophrenic mathematics genius has won the top awards in the event now widely regarded as a warm-up for the Oscars.

The lavish ceremony of the Golden Globes, the prizes for film and television handed out annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, was seen as a sign that Hollywood had ended its period of post-September 11 mourning. While the Emmy television awards last year were notable for the sober dress and the large number of no-shows among the winners, Sunday night's lavish events in Los Angeles were a return to normal - or almost normal - in terms of mood.

Some of the presenters and prizewinners did make references to the events of the past months and security was tighter than in living memory, with police marksman on the roof of the Beverly Hilton where the event was held.

Fans were also kept further away from the action than normal. But Michael Caine gave a phlegmatic tone to the proceedings when he said: "I'm from England. We've been doing this for years. Better to do this than get blown up, don't you think?"

A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard, which told the story of Nobel-prize winning John Nash, who has suffered throughout his life from schizophrenia, took the most prizes with best film, best actor (Russell Crowe), best supporting actress (Jennifer Connelly) and best screenplay (Akiva Goldsman).

Nash's formulas established the mathematical principles of the "game theory" of economics. The film traces his career from brilliant young Princeton mathematician in the 50s through his schizophrenia to his eventual winning of a Nobel prize in the 90s.

Based on Sylvia Nasar's book, A Beauti ful Mind: A Biography of John Forbes Nash Jr, the film uses as its centrepiece the relationship between Nash and his wife - played by Connelly - during the worst periods of his illness, when he was suffering from paranoia and hallucinations. It also shows Nash as a sexually blunt young man with little time for the niceties of relationships.

While the film is a romanticised version of the story, glossing over some of the unhappier incidents resulting from Nash's illness, it has been welcomed by mental health organisations for showing a sympathetic and positive image of someone suffering from an illness about which there is still little public understanding.

The film itself is classic Oscar-winning material in that it allows an actor to portray a person ageing over 40 years and carries a redemptive message and a happy ending. Apart from the winning roles played by Crowe and Connelly, it contains highly praised performances by Ed Harris as an intelligence officer, Paul Bettany and Adam Goldberg as fellow-students and Christopher Plummer.

Apart from the Golden Globes, the film has already picked up prizes and nominations from the Producers Guild of America and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. George Will of Newsweek wrote that "it imagines the almost unimaginable; how the intersection of a woman's love, a cluster of caring individuals and one man's will contributed to something extraordinary", a phrase which, not surprisingly, has been heavily used in the ads for the film.

Britain's Jim Broadbent took a best supporting actor prize for his part in Iris, another film based on a true story , this time of the mental disintegration through Alzheimer's disease of Iris Murdoch, a writer regarded by her admirers as a literary genius.

Broadbent, who took his prize as best supporting actor for playing John Bayley, Murdoch's husband, was one of many nominated British actors, including Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Tilda Swinton, Judi Dench, Ewan McGregor, Jude Law and Ben Kingsley.

But Australian and American actors took most of the main awards. Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge won the best comedy or musical film prize, best actress in a comedy/musical for Nicole Kidman and original score for Craig Armstrong.

The best director award went to Robert Altman for Gosford Park, which features a cast of 40 mainly British actors, including Alan Bates, Maggie Smith and Clive Owen. The well-received Bosnian film No Man's Land beat the favourite Amélie to the best foreign language film award.

The wins put A Beautiful Mind and Moulin Rouge in a good position for Oscar honours in what is a very open year - with everything from The Lord of the Rings and Gosford Park to In the Bedroom and The Man Who Wasn't There also seen as runners.

The Golden Globes are awarded by a small band of foreign journalists who write about showbusiness from Los Angeles. While they are often mocked by US critics as being "fans with laptops" and while the awards were discredited in the past by stories of some of the members being stroked by the studios, the ceremony now carries much clout. It is less formal than the Oscars with guests sitting at tables and the alcohol flowing freely.

For the studios, the Golden Globes event offers a useful pre-Oscar opportunity to promote their films without having to spend too much of their own money. Awards ceremonies now serve as a major marketing opportunity, and the awards won this week will be used to advertise films in the run-up to the Oscars and to try and nudge the voting intentions of wavering academy voters who have still to cast their votes.

Award winners:

Film

Drama A Beautiful Mind

Actress Sissy Spacek, In The Bedroom

Actor Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind

Musical or comedy Moulin Rouge

Musical or comedy actress Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge

Musical or comedy actor Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums

Foreign language film No Man's Land

Supporting actress Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind

Supporting actor Jim Broadbent, Iris

Director Robert Altman, Gosford Park

Screenplay Akiva Goldsman, A Beautiful Mind

Original score Craig Armstrong, Moulin Rouge

Original song Until... from Kate & Leopold, Sting

Television

Drama series Six Feet Under

Actress, drama series Jennifer Garner, Alias

Actor, drama series Kiefer Sutherland, 24

Musical or comedy series Sex And The City

Actress, musical or comedy series Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex And The City

Actor, musical or comedy series Charlie Sheen, Spin City

Miniseries or television film Band of Brothers

Actress, miniseries or television film Judy Davis, Life With Judy Garland

Actor, miniseries or television film James Franco, James Dean

Actress, supporting role, miniseries or television film Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under

Actor, supporting role, miniseries or television film Stanley Tucci, Conspiracy

Special award

Cecil B DeMille Award Harrison Ford