Finding Forrester

Recently, we lost quite possibly the coolest actor ever, Sean Connery. Seeing how I had reviewed almost all of his movies that I have watched, there was one that I didn’t review since I was trying to see when would be the right time to review it. Now I feel I can complete that by reviewing it now, “Finding Forrester,” released in 2000.

Movies about writers are extremely hard to pull off, since writing by its nature is not cinematic. “Finding Forrester” avoids that problem by giving us a man who wrote one good novel a long time ago, and now doesn’t write: He has now become isolated and is scared to leave his own apartment. This is William Forrester, played by the late Sean Connery, who looks out on his Bronx neighborhood by using binoculars from his apartment window. “The man in the window” is seen by black teenagers playing basketball on a court below, and that becomes the turning point for Jamal Wallace, played by Rob Brown.

Jamal is a smart student who has no one to share his intelligence with. At school he hides his learning because, as an adult says, “basketball is where he gets his acceptance.” He gets C’s when his SAT scores say that he is an A student and is the leader on the high school team. Once night on a dare, he sneaks into Forrester’s apartment, is scared by him and begins a weird friendship. Jamal gets someone to read his writings. Forrester gets someone to make him get out of his apartment.

“Finding Forrester” was directed by Gus Van Sant, written by Mike Rich, and shows some similarity with Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting,” also about a working-class boy who’s smart. Roger Ebert said in his review, “The stories are really quite different, however, not least because Connery's character is at least as important as Brown's, and because the movie has some insights into the dilemma of a smart black kid afraid his friends will consider him a suck-up.”

The movie has at least two looks into writing that are right on point. The first is William’s advice to Jamal that he does not wait for ideas and just start writing. Ebert said, “My own way of phrasing this rule is: The Muse visits during composition, not before.” The other true point is a subtle one. An early camera shot goes across the books next to Jamal’s bed, and we see that his reading likings are diverse, good and assorted. Every book is worn out, except one, the paperback of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, which looks brand new and has no creases on its spine. That’s the book everyone buys but no one reads.

The scenes between William and Jamal are the main parts of the movie, and it’s a joy to watch the chemistry between Connery, who was in his 50^th year of backing, and Brown, in his film debut. Forrester gives the kid different types of helpful advice about being a writer, including the tip, “Women will sleep with you if you write a book.” That’s something Jamal might have figured out for himself, but Forrester is even more encouraging: “Women will sleep with you if you write a bad book.” Jamal gets a scholarship to a private college (his SAT is high enough that it’s not an athletic scholarship, despite the board wanting him to play). On its faculty is the cynical Crawford, played by F. Murray Abraham, who is also an old enemy of Forrester’s, who just doesn’t believe an African-American basketball player from the Bronx can write the way Jamal does. Ebert said, “That sets up the crisis and the payoff, which will remind some viewers of "Scent of a Woman."”

Ebert continued, “I was reminded of another movie, a great one, named "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (1962). In both that movie and this one, a disadvantaged young man simply refuses to perform like a trained seal, because he knows that will be a lethal blow against his adult tormentors.” In a movie where sports is an important theme, Jamal’s important decision is the best parts of the story about his walk through two worlds.

If you haven’t seen this movie, you should, especially if you were a fan of Connery. This is truly an inspirational movie and is one that shows that you can always have someone out there who will support you and inspire you to chase after your dreams. You should never underestimate yourself and always try your hardest at what you’re passionate about and what you excel at. Check this one out and have a good time.

Rest in Peace Sean Connery. You were definitely an actor that we all adored and loved, especially in bad movies where you were the best part. You will certainly be missed good sir, and thank you for giving us so many films to watch and so many memorable characters.

Thank you for joining in on my review tonight. Look out this Friday to see what I will review this month.