The Pursuit of Happyness....an extremely uplifting tale of a father and a son stuck up in a financial crisis in the land of opportunities-USA
The Story:
Chris Gardner was a struggling salesman in little needed medical bone density scanners while his wife toiled in double shifts to support the family including their young son, Christopher. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career.
Even when his wife leaves him because of this choice, Chrisclings to this dream with his son even when the odds become more daunting by the day. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest that would make Gardner a respected millionaire. Courtesy:IMDb
Performances:
I’ve not seen Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland(He won this year’s Academy Award for the same) but i’m willing to bet anything that if he were not there it would’ve been Will Smith. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner with such convition, the viewer gets amazed. He emotes through his body language, his eyes and is a treat to watch. If nothing else...watch it for him. Jaden Smith supports him well as his son. Some scenes like when he asks Will Smith whether his mom leaves them because of him(Jaden) are really moving or like the one where he cheers at the football match. Thandie Newton and Brian Howe are alright in their respective roles.
The screenplay is the biggest plus point of this movie. Scenes at the basketball court, Will Smith running everywhere, the railway station sequence when Will Smith is running
away from a cabbie are examples of good screenplay.
Good scenes:
1)Chris meets a stock broker with his Ferrari
2)The Rubix Cube incident
3)The scene between Chris and Christopher at the Basketball court
4)The ’dinosaur’ scene at the railway platform and the scene after that in the toilet
5)The Climax
My Verdict:The Pursuit of Happyness is a cliched rags to riches
tale told in a creative manner. A completely different look at a father-son relation than usual. A must-watch for people who like uplifting movies that showcase the triumph of the human spirit and for people who like Will Smith.