Encontrando Forrester

Director Gus Van Sant also directed `Good Will Hunting' and this film has essentially the same plot. An underprivileged youth is discovered by a reclusive genius and is shepherded to his full potential. What GWH was to math, this film is to literature. They are such close cousins that Van Sant felt compelled to bring in Matt Damon for a cameo.

Regardless of the familiar plot, `Finding Forrester' succeeds because of an excellent screenplay and outstanding acting performances by Sean Connery, Rob Brown and F. Murray Abraham. This kind of story can't help grabbing the audience at a human level. Genius, suppressed by societal class, struggles to emerge and it beats the odds. The story is transcendent for both the main characters. Forrester (Sean Connery) helps Jamal (Rob Wallace) transcend his societal constraints to realize his potential as a writer, and Jamal helps Forrester to transcend the constraints of his emotional traumas to free him as a human being. It is a triumphant story, very uplifting.

Van Sant does a good job of presenting the human element and developing the characters while keeping the photography effective but in the background. The photography is very straightforward, allowing the characters to tell the story without the intrusive use of stylish shots that are all to prevalent lately. Van Sant gives Forrester's apartment a dark and dreary look from a color and lighting perspective, which is particularly effective.

Sean Connery is in top form and continues to make the case for being one of our best and most treasured actors. He gives a virtuoso performance in this film with a complex and ornery character. It is a powerful and moving portrayal. Rob Brown is phenomenal in his first feature film. He was found in a talent search and made an impressive debut with an extremely mature performance. With the right scripts, he has a good chance of having a bright future. F. Murray Abraham is fantastic as the haughty English teacher, who gets his just deserts.

This is a highly intelligent film with a strong story, steady direction and marvelous acting. I rated it a 9/10. Despite an all too familiar storyline, it differentiates itself by its wide-ranging excellence. For those who enjoy good dramatic performances and intriguing character studies, this film is not to be missed.

Continuing my plan to watch every Sean Connery movie in order, I come to the penultimate movie in his filmography Finding Forrester (2000)

Plot In A Paragraph: A young writing protégé (Rob Brown), finds help with a reclusive author (Connery)

The last REALLY good movie Connery made. It's a wonderful performance that was surprisingly snubbed come awards season. Rob Brown gives a really good performance, even more so when you consider it was his debut. F Murray Abraham is his usual great self!! Perfectly annoying!! Matt Damon pops up in a cameo as a lawyer too.

It has a few pacing issues, a few unnecessary scenes and it's quite poorly lit at times too!! But those are minor gripes, and I for one love this movie. It would make my Top 100 of the decade. This is the movie I wished Connery ended his filmography on. But like with Clint Eastwood, he went one more after a great movie. Although Eastwood's last movie was not the disaster that Connery's was.

Finding Forrester grossed $51 million st the domestic box office, to end 2000 as the 50th highest grossing movie of the year.

As a person who enjoys good movies, as well as reading and writing, I loved this film, and would see it again. Some may accuse it of being formulaic, but I feel that there is just enough unexpected-ness in it to keep the audience interested. I would hope that the apparent similarities to the director, Gus Van Sant's earlier work, Good Will Hunting, do not dissuade anyone from seeing the film. Any similarities are unimportant and do not take away from the fact that this is a good movie which stands alone as a deep film with an good plot. The script is very well written and all of the dialog appears real and natural. It is a thought provoking drama, but it is not depressing or sappy, as all too many dramas are. At the same time, it does not give the impression of simply being a feel-good movie. Also, although there are several humorous lines in the movie, they do not rely on cheap puns or slap stick humor.

William Forester once wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning book, but now is a recluse, hiding from his fame, who never leaves his book-filled apartment in the Bronx, but spends his time reading and bird watching, as well as watching the teenagers of the neighborhood play basketball in the park outside his window. Jamal Wallace is one of these teenagers. He hides his love of reading, and his brilliant writing skills, and chooses instead to gain the acceptance of his peers through his skill at basketball. A prep school has offered Jamal a scholarship because of his high test scores, and their need to win a basketball championship. The two characters meet, and Forester becomes a sort of teacher/mentor, but both learn many things from each other. Symbolism is important in this film, and it makes many good points about people, how we relate to each other, and how we deal with the difficulties of life.

The movie stays away from any violence and sex. It is rated PG-13 because of brief strong language and sexual references, but even these are few, and not over done, using only what is necessary to create real characters and setting -- a refreshing difference from many films that are now being made. The message of the film is good and moral, but it was wonderful to see a serious film staring a young black person that does not hit you over the head with messages of racial tolerance.

One of the surprises in the film is the great soundtrack. It is mostly Jazz songs from Miles Davis and others, which seems well suited to the mood of the movie and to the setting, another well done part of the film. The final song, a medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" is great. I was happy that this movie had refused to do what many recent movies have done in capitalizing on a soundtrack and trying to use or create hit pop songs in a movie. It also stays away from sappy and unnecessary orchestra music that is often used to try to create emotion in the audience. This movie does not need to resort to tricks like this in order to make you feel for the characters. Another happy surprise is a cameo from Matt Damon.

The acting is wonderful, particularly from the experienced Sean Connery, playing the title character, and from newcomer Robert Brown, as Jamal. Even the more minor parts in the film, such as Jamal's older brother, played by Busta Rhymes, and Jamal's friends and teachers are well-acted. Anna Paquin is well suited for her role as Claire, a rich girl from the prep school that Jamal transfers to. The two seem to make a connection, but a romantic subplot is not pursued very far in the film. I found this a refreshing change, and one of the factors that kept the movie from being too predictable, as well as much more realistic. Real life romances do not usually happen the way they often do in films. A disappointment was the character played by F. Murray Abraham. Although well acted, there is a complete lack of character development, and the teacher-that-gives-the-brilliant-student-a-hard-time stereotype is hard to ignore. Despite this one shortcoming, this is an excellent film.

As the film ended and the credits began to roll, I noticed that no one in the theater got up to leave, as is usually the case in theaters. The audience remained seated until the credits and music had finished, and the lights came back on. It is just that kind of a movie. I would defiantly recommend it to anyone wishing to see a mature and thought-provoking film that is entertaining and enjoyable to watch, and will leave you feeling inspired.

'Finding Forrester' is without any doubt the best movie of the year 2000. I've heard many people say that this is just director Gus Van Sant's retread of his oscar winning hit 'Good Will Hunting'. That is the furthest statement from the truth. Eventhough the general idea of two different people bonding is here, everything else is as different as it comes.

The story is about Jamal Wallace(Rob Brown, making his bigscreen debut), an allstar basketball player who's only 16 but has a passion for writing and reading. One night on a bet he breaks into the apartment of a person only known to the neighborhood kids as "The Window". But when he's caught, Wallace bolts and forgets his backpack. Later he gets his backpack back, with all his written material analyzed, corrected ect. After revisiting the man, Wallace finds out that "The Window" is none other than reclusive author William Forrester(Sean Connery), who has been hiding for 40 years. They cut a deal that as long as Jamal doesn't tell anybody about William, then William must help Jamal with his writing. Over the course of the movie a beautiful bond forms as the two different people become friends and partners. Along the way William helps Jamal deal with his biased english professor Robert Crawford(F. Murray Abraham), his new girlfriend(Anna Paquin), his brother(rapper Busta Rhymes) and everyone else in his life.

The acting in this film is universally excellent, and no matter how it is billed Brown is the real star of this movie. Connery is brilliant but isn't on the screen enough to outshine Brown. Abraham comes off as the perfect nemesis and Busta Rhymes acquits himself rather well. Anna Paquin isn't too bad but she isn't given too much to do. Excellent supporting cast withstanding the best scenes in the film are the one on one interactions between Brown and Connery. I especially loved the "Soup questions" scene and the Jeopardy scene.

Considering this is Van Sant's first film since the terrible 'Psycho' remake he made a few years back he does very well. And surprisingly he generates more tension and suspense in one basketball sequence late in the movie than he did in all of 'Psycho'.

Overall this is not only Van Sant's best movie but also the best film all year. And after seeing this movie three weeks after the Academy Awards it makes it all the more shocking that 'Gladiator' won as I can't see how, in any way, it is better than this great film. Like a great book 'Finding Forrester' gets better every viewing and i'm sure it will stand the test of time. 10/10

This is not the movie I'm used to watching, and I didn't know what to expect. The amazing story that resulted is definitely one I'll be watching again. And again. And again. I laughed when I should've laughed, and I was intrigued when it was intriguing. This movie will probably be considered a classic in the future because of how special and inspiring it is. I'm proud that I got the chance to watch this movie and I'm excited for the next time I do.