In the rash of poorly made movies that are showing in theatres currently, I have a suggestion to make ? rent out DVDs and go for the earlier films that were good, but were not great commercial successes. You?ll be surprised! To get you going, here?s a review of one such film:
Finding Forrester is one of those movies that can truly be enjoyed when you are in a reflective mood on a rainy day. It tells you a story that is warm and intelligent without appearing contrived.
Jamal Wallace (played by newcomer Rob Brown) is a 16 year old black kid from the wrong end of town. He has well-known skills at basketball but is a closet intellectual with a passion for reading. ?Basketball is where he finds his acceptance?, says his teacher to his surprised mother when she tells her of her son?s latent genius. Jamal thus gets an opportunity to go to a college, which might have otherwise been beyond his reach.
Meanwhile Jamal develops an acquaintance with a reclusive old white man under interesting circumstances. The man turns out to be a Pulitzer-winning writer called William Forrester. They bond ? this seemingly contrived situation is handled deftly by the director (Gus Van Sant) ? and from here, the story is a cocktail involving the subtleties of writing, coming of age in an unfamiliar environment (the new school of Jamal) and a gentle romance between Jamal and a girl from his new school. The role of the girl, Claire, is played by Anna Paquin who played ?Rogue? in X_Men.
The threat to Jamal comes from his new English teacher Robert Crawford (F. Murray Abraham) who suspects him of lifting his works from those of William Forrester. Apparently Crawford?s bitterness stems from his own failure as a writer.
The Climax, while reminiscent of ?Scent of a woman?, is in a different league. The understated performances lend the movie a very pleasantly-paced, non-Hollywood feel that is attractive. Sean Connery as Forrester impresses with his persona. Rob Brown has a kind of silent-yet-impactful presence that is aided perhaps by his clean black looks. Anna Paquin lends the necessary diversionary charm to this movie.
Besides the climax, there are a couple of scenes in the film that are worth a mention. Jamal checks out a BMW parked on the street where he plays, but ends up making the owner (a well-heeled white) nervous. On being told that it is not ?just a car? but a BMW, Jamal spews forth a history of the famed vehicle-makers that is clearly Greek to the owner. An amusing scene that makes you smirk at stereotypes.
Jamal romances Claire on her terrace at one of her parties. There is a certain visual appeal to the pairing that the director effectively leverages. Sigh! When will Hindi movies learn to depict romance?
Not sumptuous, but nice. And I bet that is often what we are looking for.