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***1/2 of ****
Rated: PG-13
Length: 136 minutes
Credits:
Writers: Mike Rich
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast:
Sean Connery: William Forrester
Robert Brown: Jamal Wallace
F. Murray Abraham: Crawford -bitter literature teacher
Busta Rhymes: Terrel Wallace -Jamal's brother
Anna Paquin: Claire Spence -daughter of Dr. Spence
Michael Nouri: Dr. Spence -school board member
other cast of note:
Matt Damon: lawyer
Joey Buttafuoco: Yankee Stadium security guard
Genre: fantasy drama
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A Black 16 year old boy, Jamal Wallace, is growing up in the South Bronx hiding his academic abilities from his friends that know him for his stellar basketball ability. Across the street from the school basketball court lives a reclusive man, William Forrester, who has become the subject of neighborhood myth. On a Dare, Jamal breaks into William's apartment, but flees and leaves his backpack behind. The next day, Jamal's backpack is returned, and upon inspection, he finds that his journals have been extensively critiqued. The final critique draws him back to William, and could be the tag line of the movie. An excellent near by private prep school which is mostly white, recruits Jamal on scholarship for having both academic and basketball talents. William begins a mentor-like relationship with Jamal, and amongst the arguing, their passion for writing draws them closer to each other and to themselves. The literature teacher at the new school is a bitter failed writer who is especially harsh to his new student. Jamal's exceptional literary knowledge and desires begin to clash with the establishment. Things develop, and both Jamal and William must each confront this obstacle in a way that will redefine each of them.
The title of Finding Forrester is fitting for the movie, and would be correct with a couple different interpretations. Once you accept this movie as a fantasy drama, you are much freer to skip the contrivances and let the story develop. There is a strong sense of direction in this movie, and it hardly looses momentum. For it's fanciful core, the movie has a tame although moving conclusion. There are multiple topics brushed but not covered in the telling of this story. This movie is about the clear expression of ideas in quality writing, and the discovery and expression of one's inner most values.
There are only a few characters in the movie, but the relationships between them and within the main two are what defines the story. William and Jamal slowly build an awkward relationship that progresses into a friendship. The somewhat mouthy teenager gets better at being aware of his words and the reclusive author becomes freer with his thoughts and words. The mentoring relationship works both ways, and the rebirth of William is told at a believable pace within the time frame of a movie. The classroom and basketball scenes are fine although fairly limited due to the nature of this story being dialog intense between William and Jamal. The supporting characters do well at maintaining the tone of the movie, cementing the story, and creating movement in the plot.
Sean Connery and Robert Brown work surprisingly well together. The rough communications and body language at the start is developed into a relatively smooth collaborative effort by the end. Sean Connery is the big name that will draw the crowd, and his fans won't be disappointed. The theater had many little old ladies there, and they didn't seem to have much difficulty with the rapid, yet tame ghetto dialect.
Robert Brown is an untrained and nonexperienced actor who makes a tsunami sized splash in his debut performance. He holds his own very well while performing with some solid stars. Interestingly, he really was raised in NYC, Brooklyn, and is talented in academics and basketball. His basketball skill does become apparent during some of the competitive scenes. We will se more of this school kid. Perhaps at an award show.
Busta Rhymes doesn't have as much to do in the film as some of the other supporting actors, but he does function as the stable individual from which we can see Jamal's growth. He does have a scene alone opposite Sean Connery that is a key moment of rebirth for William. This works well in part because they both have a calm toughness and a sweetness about them. That makes the commonality of friendship with Jamal more believable.
Anna Paquin portrayed the odd character of Claire Spence who is the daughter of Dr. Spence, School Board Member. Anna does fine acting, but the direction leaves this as the inconsistent character. She first appears as this jolly student who's there to show Jamal around his new school. In the next scenes, she is all flirty, but something is not right with the interaction. Her character is one of two females in the movie, and actually the more major one. She may represent a romantic temptation to be a challenge between Jamal and his writing, but who knows what was left on the cutting room floor. Claire also functions as the friendly level headed source of knowledge about the school's real operations and priorities. I remember being amazed by Anna Paquin in The Piano, and calling for an Oscar before that crappy movie had even ended. With her limited character given three different directions, she won't be winning any awards here.
F. Murray Abraham does a great job of playing the bitter literature teacher Crawford. His passion for the written word and spite for the living being make for a strongly villainous character. He plays this duplicitous bastard quite solidly, and is really the major supporting person in the movie. The pain of what he believes is his failure in writing has turned him into a genuine failure, and F. Murray Abraham's portrayal here makes you loathe this passionate yet pathetic monster.
This is a movie worth seeing, but it is not the kind of story that needs the big screen or the high end sound system of a first run theater.