Finding Forrester

Finding Forrester achieves a distinct success few Hollywood movies can even dream of: It overwhelms and inspires with understatement.

Manages to take the cerebral act of literary creation and make it exciting, sexy even.

One can't underestimate the appeal of any movie constructed around Sean Connery's charm.

It's rare to see a movie that takes such joy in the power of words, not to create lofty works of art but to effect the simple, necessary translation of what's in one's heart and mind.

It feels less predictable and derivative than it is, thanks to Gus Van Sant's deft direction and two fine central performances.

Rich supplies some eloquent grace notes, and Van Sant uses them to make understated music.

Not even D.W. Griffith, Steven Spielberg, and Stanley Kubrick working together could succeed in making this pandering piece of nonsense work dramatically on any level except the most egregiously phony.

Entertaining. Enlightening! A must watch. On my top 5 favourite's list excellent movie, we need more like this.

I consider this to be a light feel good film which I very much enjoy. Some portions lack detail, and it would have been nice if more scenes were included to strengthen the movie as a whole. Overall a pretty good film!

Books and writers and scholarships. A paper read should be the big finale and you are going to get exactly what you expect. Finding Forrester Gus Van Sant, the director, is my go to guy. I can understand why it won't be for everyone. For he deals with the drama that comes with or from a privileged position. That is not to say, of course, that his emotions juggled across the film is less important. But he certainly is aware of the selective audience that he might be able to draw a nod out from. Now, that is not only not an excuse but also not a recommended way to move forward. So how do you make people care about something in a larger margin? Like some controversial issue that is taking over the nation? World? Sports, is his way in. And it should be it. There is always a quality of earning your spot or moving forward or winning an element in his films. This is what makes you earn that act of the film. This is how he makes you care for these characters. And Finding Forrester fits right in on this strategy of his. And you can see that in the very first act itself. The common and often accused issues is eliminated by Sean Connery with a commanding voice. This gets thrown out of the window. The obvious part of the deal. So now we can roll up our sleeves and get right to the heart of the matter. A mature productive debate to solve a higher themed issue. This once again would thin out the heard that would sing along to this rhythm. But with a character driven emotionally resonant approach, Gus Van Sant whips you hard with long lasting tears. Almost, as if you are told to tear down. Not something that is rubbed on your face but gets an attention through an underrated performance. Connery and Abraham shares only one moment in the film. And that is enough.

Eh, this one is alright. It is largely mediocre and there is nothing outright horrible about it, but ultimately this one just feels like Good Will Hunting meets Scent of a Woman meets the inner city. It is a blend of topics that have been done better by other films and while the acting from Sean Connery, Rob Brown, and Anna Paquin, is very good, their performances are not enough to lift this one out of being nothing more than your average, every day movie. There is nothing truly extraordinary about the story or the relationship forged by Connery and Brown, though their chemistry is good. In addition, it just feels like a movie I have seen many times before, which is too bad. The only element that bothered me here is F. Murray Abraham's character. His acting is fine, but his role as a teacher is so comically over the top in terms of being out to get his students and being pure evil that it just kills any authenticity this one has and is annoying to watch. Overall, Finding Forrester is a solid film that really does nothing that well and has no true glaring mistakes and winds up being nothing more than mediocre.

Charming movie that was by-the-numbers and completely predictable. There were entirely too many subplots, and at times this felt like it was written by committee, or a single writer who couldn't commit to just a few ideas. The denouement was not earned as it was not set up by events earlier in the movie.