Finding Forrester (2000) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin and Busta Rhymes. Written by Mike Rich. Directed by Gus Van Sant.
Director Gus Van Sant threads a very thin line in his newest movie, Finding Forrester.
Firstly, some people may draw comparisons between this and his previous outing, the Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting.
Secondly, some may accuse the director of patronization or even racism in this well-done story of a black ghetto teen-ager, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), who's undisciplined talent is given focus and purpose by a reclusive, white writer, William Forrester (Sean Connery).
But these are arguments you think of days or maybe even weeks after seeing Finding Forrester. While you watch it, though, you are caught up in the dynamics of the relationship between this older man whoís afraid to leave his apartment and this ambitious, but realistic youth who knows the odds he must overcome to achieve the recognition to which his God-given talent entitles him.
Finding Forrester is a belated holiday gift ó a film you can cheer and applaud as the end credits roll.
The movie is like an oasis in a cinematic desert. Cinematically, 2000 was as exciting as a Floridianís dissertation about chads. Finding Forrester is like discovering a Lena Horne is a chorus of Brittany Spearses.
The movie does contain a few clichés: The preppy private school that accepts Jamal as much for his basketball playing skills as for his intellectual skills; the schoolís trustees who patronize Jamal and only offer him token acceptance: the one white, rebellious female student (Anna Paquin) who takes a romantic interest in Jamal.
What also is brought to mind are some movies from the late ë80s and early ë90s, such as Cry Freedom and Mississippi Burning, which dealt with the issues of apartheid and the civil rights movement, but from the perspective of those films white characters.
Again, though, these shortcomings do not interfere with the overall emotional impact you get from watching Finding Forrester.
The glue that binds this drama is the performance of Connery ó at once arrogant, grumpy, suspicious and afraid ó and his characterís interaction with Jamal. Connery endows Forrester with some quirky habits: He wears his socks inside out, for example.
Underneath Forresterís bluster is a vulnerable, lonely man who abhors, yet simultaneously misses, social intercourse.
Finding Forrester marks Brownís film debut, and itís a beaut. This young man is intelligent, cynical and talented, aware of the circumstances in which he lives and knowing the odds he faces to raise his status. But Brownís Jamal shows more determination than bitterness. He fights the odds society has stacked against him not with a sword, but with a pen.
As I said, Finding Forrester has its fill of clichés and caricatures. The most obvious is F. Murray Abraham as a snobbish literary teacher at Jamalís private school who does not believe that this ghetto teen is a prodigy. The mistake was making Abrahamís character a failed, frustrated author.
At more than two hours, Finding Forrester does not lag. Director Van Sant keeps the action flowing between Jamal, Forrester, their relationship as well as glimpses of Jamalís home life and his struggles at school.
Finding Forrester is a positive experience, a movie you can sit back and enjoy. It will make you laugh, anger you at times, and may even bring a tear to your eye. Itís a movie that may envelop you like a warm hug.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com. For more of Bloom's reviews go to www.jconline.com and click on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database at: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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