Hunter N
The plot was pretty good in general, but the unnecessary sexual references and sheer volume of profanity is unacceptable. Do not watch this movie.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/26/24
Full Review
Rick M
A superbly crafted story that brings the viewer right into the heart of the film. A very pleasant and unexpected surprise.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/08/24
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Arik S
Finding forester is a great movie for those seeking a well rounded story not over acted and enjoyable to watch. The story line remains compelling throughout demonstrating wonderful growth for all characters. I continue to watch this movie regularly especially when I need to reminded about the value of hard work and friendship.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/08/23
Full Review
Naia Z
Finding Forrester, a classic film following an incredibly bright New York basketball all-star, Jamal, is a story of struggle, perseverance, and triumph. By using plot, characterization, juxtaposition, and stereotypes, Van Sant demonstrates a theme of personal conflict leading to self discovery and improvement through friendship.
The plot relies heavily on the predictability of the characters and their actions, making it easy to follow; this could be viewed as positive or negative depending on the audience's perspective. It takes virtually no time after the protagonist's introduction for the audience to completely understand the character. It is immediately shown that he is very smart, but tends not to show it and focuses his energy solely into basketball. This suggests that he is ashamed of his intellectual abilities, and is easily influenced by his surroundings. As the plot advances, the audience learns little more about him. He seems to value his family a great deal, but he remains a flat character for the majority of the story. Over the course of the story there is no event that changes his personality or teaches him a lesson. Forrester presents in a similar way when he is first introduced; all that is known about him that he is overly confident, believes he is superior to, or more knowledgeable than Jamal, and is very withdrawn from society. However, unlike Jamal, Forrester ends up as a dynamic character, honoring his connection with other people, and ultimately venturing out into the world. This change is marked by his appearance at Mailor-Callow's writing contest, brought on by his special relationship with Jamal.
Van Sant employs juxtaposition and stereotypes by allowing the story to fall into the trope of an underprivileged teen mentored by an older, usually white, man being given a chance to excell and climb the economic ladder. The contrast between Jamal and the characters in his new environment becomes clear in the beginning of the movie when the first and only white character is introduced, and there is an obvious divide between the two groups; the man driving the BMW and Forrester, and Jamal and his friends playing basketball. This is a prominent situation all throughout the movie, it is displayed again when Jamal is the only black member of the basketball team, as well as the only one known not to be rich. He is out of place at the private school, a stark difference from his past educational experience where he was considered average, or normal. This contradiction between Jamal and his new setting is both the basis of his internal conflict, and the reason he is so succesful. This challenge forces him to wrestle with the idea of leaving his family and friends for a better opportunity, knowing that he might not be welcomed there. This is a common occurance in general media, not just this film. Jamal falls into the stereotype of an underrepresented yet gifted kid with a poor upbringing. Forrester completes their duo with the stereotypical role of an experienced mentor. He has all the familiar qualities of this kind of character; a traumatic past that has turned him into a recluse, extensive knowledge of some kind of art or literature, and a standoffish attitude. Despite the predictability and arguable unpleasantness of his character, his relationship with Jamal, the perfect complimenting character, allows him to grow.
These tactics are effective in illustrating how success can emerge from struggle because of a friendship, however there are quite overdone. Many would argue that this film does not appeal to them, as its plot lacks an entertainment factor. Audiences might find such obvious stories tiresome, wanting a more engaging plot. Regardless, Van Sant does an excellent job of communicating the theme. I would consider Finding Forrester a great watch for anyone in search of a heartwarming story, but would advise against having high expectations.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
Alex Z
The movie Finding Forrester, directed by Gus Van Sant, follows two characters, Jamal Wallace and William Forrester. Jamal is a young writing and basketball protegee in high school who struggles with expressing himself. William is a retired writer and extreme recluse who is angry at the world he sees as beneath him. Through the use of plot, characterization, foreshadowing, and unity, the theme of creating our own family outside our biological relatives is not effectively conveyed.
The plot and characterization issues go together to some extent. Roughly the first half of the movie is all exposition and the main conflict only starts near that halfway point. This would only be acceptable if the movie were a character study, but both characters are relatively stagnant and only Forrester changes near the end of the movie. Without the main plot starting earlier, we don't see any of the build up to the main theme. We barely see any groundwork for the found family theme in the exposition either, neither biological family or good friends are mentioned hardly at all. The characterization doesn't help. Jamal is a very flat character, and he remains the same for the entirety of the movie. As the protagonist, this makes for an uninteresting movie. Forrester is more dynamic, but none of his changes hints at a found family trope until he gives a speech about it at the end of the movie, shoving it in at the last minute. Both plot and characterization leave something to be desired, and their lacking qualities do not develop the theme of found family.
Foreshadowing is another issue because of its non-existence. Very little is shown before the speech at the end that hints at a found family. Jamal is shown to have a kind and caring mother and a brother who cares about him, so we don't see him seeking out another family that he makes himself. Forrester's backstory has more setup for the found family trope because all his biological relatives are dead, but we never see him developing a familial relationship with Jamal. It was at most friends, often closer to mentor and mentee. This lack of foreshadowing makes for an unsatisfying conclusion and an under-developed theme.
Lastly, the work is not unified under one central idea, or theme. As I've said previously, the theme was not shown well until it was retconned in through Forrester's speech at the climax of the movie. This lack of a driving force makes the work seem purposeless and disjointed, and the speech out of place. The other issues with plot, characterization, and foreshadowing all culminate in a poorly unified work that comes off as random and meandering until the halfway point. Even that actual plot has little to do with the actual theme, and the speech therefore comes off as completely out of the blue.
Overall I think this movie wasn't very good. I didn't feel connected to the characters and I actively disliked Forrester. The plot was sparse and boring and I wasn't invested in it. Analyzing it like this certainly made me dislike it more because I can see the issues more clearly now. I would not recommend it to friends.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
Price B
Finding Forrester, a 2000 film from director Gus Van Sant is unremarkable. It follows a young man, Jamal, as he tries to discover who he is as a basketball player, writer, and person all while building a friendship with an old white writer, Forrester. A poor imitation of Van Sant's popular Good Will Hunting, the film fails to come together into something unique and wholly entertaining. Attempts by Van Sant to use plot, characterization, tone, and clichés, to communicate the theme that friendship provides joy and meaning to life were unsuccessful.
The plot and characterization in Finding Forrester is unfocused and confusing. The (arguable) main plot line of the movie - concerning Jamal's conflict with one of his teachers - does not begin until at least halfway through the movie. This one thread sticks out as it is one of the longest of the film, but other than that is indistinct. Generally, the plot is made up of many small threads that fail to come together to form a bigger picture. All conflicts and issues concerning Jamal are easily resolved and don't add much to the development of his character. Speaking of character, Jamal isn't interesting. He's a basic archetype who's characterized as mainly intelligent and athletic. That's it. He does wear a funky hat from time to time, but that doesn't add much to his value as a character. The only character in the film who seems to have some depth to him is Forrester, but he is not the protagonist. The characterizations of this movie fail by providing a flat protagonist in Jamal and a round side character in Forrester who we are unable to dig deeper into.
The tone and clichés of this movie are what makes it fall apart. The ‘woke' tone of the movie proclaims that black men can be smart too and tries to display the racism that they face, all while being juxtaposed with clichés that buy into the racist stereotype of black men. Jamal is a young black man who loves to play basketball. He started writing when his drug-addict father left. He lives in a lower-class neighborhood full of other people of color. His brother is an aspiring rapper. He and his friends break into someone's house for fun. The list would go on and on; Jamal's life and the plots surrounding him are full of stereotypes and clichés. From the love interest's protective father to Jamal having to tell white men about cars or literature to prove his intelligence, the movie relies heavily on everything other than good plot and characterization. The ‘woke' and anti-racism tone of the movie doesn't quite match the fact that the movie is at its core a white savior narrative.
Van Sant's heavy reliance on tone and clichés over good plot and characterization falls short in communicating a theme about friendship providing meaning and joy to life. The inability to have a central plot distracts the viewer with thoughts about a love interest, basketball team, and writing competition rather than focusing on a discussion on friendship. The lack of characterization of Jamal and deeper characterization of Forrester gives the viewer an interest in Forrester rather than his friendship with Jamal, and the mash-up of cliches makes the whole movie blend together to the point that the theme is difficult to find.
I would not recommend this movie. I think that all things considered, it isn't the most atrocious film, but there just is not much that makes it worth watching. The plot is predictable, the characters are basic, and the attempts at being PC fall short. The one thing I did appreciate about the movie was how different parts of the movie connected. For example, how Jamal's attempt to steal a knife from Forrester led to their friendship, and how you can see Jamal opening a letter from Forrester at the end of the movie with the same knife. The full circle moments are vaguely satisfying but do not compensate for the lackluster quality of everything else in the movie. Instead of seeing this movie, you might want to take a page out of Forrester's book and stick to bird-watching.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
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