If your instructor has not provided you with a specific topic for your argument, other than A Beautiful Mind, then you have many options. The first thing that you need to do is explore your choices.
For example, A Beautiful Mind chronicles the life and accomplishments of John Nash, a mathematical genius who suffers from mental illness. You could explore the movie's portrayal of his illness and the fact that in real life, Nash did not suffer visual hallucinations, just auditory hallucinations, and pose an argument about the benefits of, or issues with taking creative license with the facts. Did it make the movie more interesting? Was it necessary? Why or why not? You could argue that highly intelligent or creative people like Nash are prone to madness.
Whatever you decide, your topic must have two opposing sides. Choose one side, write a thesis, and support it with facts and reasoning. Be sure to mention the other side, but only long enough to discredit it, and conclude with your own side. This format applies no matter the length of the paper.
This question is extremely wide open. It is narrowed down in the fact that you are told to write about a specific movie; however, everything else is completely open. Some writers might find this a breath of fresh air, but other writers might find it frustrating to be given so little guidance. An argumentative paper might sound intimidating, but all that it means is you have to make an argumentative statement about the film and support your position with evidence.
Your argument looks like it could be about anything. You could make an argument about Crowe's exceptional acting, the filming techniques used, the film's themes, the film's portrayal of characters, etc. It's up to you to decide how broad or narrow your focus is going to be. If you have a length requirement, let that be your guide. If the length requirement is fairly short, pick a narrow topic and use 3-4 examples from the film that explain and support your topic. If the length requirement is somewhat lengthy, then try to blend together a couple of the previous thesis ideas. Generally speaking, themes and characters blend well with each other. This is because characters are often used to show audiences/readers the theme. For this particular film, there are themes of madness and perseverance, and John Nash is the character centrally involved with both themes. It's entirely possible for you to highlight the theme and character development by explaining how certain film techniques that Ron Howard uses further enhances the audience's experience with the theme and character. For example, Howard is intentional about the use of high and low angle shots as well as how tightly the camera is framed on Crowe's face. Much of the film's emotional impact rests on Crowe's ability to deliver his inner struggles via his face.
Start the entire paper with an interesting hook that leads into the argumentative thesis statement, and then make sure that every paragraph that follows is devoted to proving that initial statement. The statement could be something like the following statement
"Although A Beautiful Mind is focused on John Nash, it is Alicia Nash that truly gives audiences the deep emotional impact of John's struggles."
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