Finding Forrester (2000) Movie review – Good but unrealistic characters

I was under the impression that William Forrester was a genuine author,having researched the name,I was surprised to find he was pure fiction,this is shining light for the movie and it’s portrayal of a legendary author,a made up one at that.

A few problems I have with the movie,the writer has to find a way to let these characters meet,as Forrester is a recluse and Jamal is a street kid,he decides that Jamal’s friends would dare him to break into the Forrester’s home,and steal an item,on attempting this he gets caught,then the friendship begins….

I feel this was a really poor excuse or reason for them to meet,not to mention unbelievable,a young black guy from the hood breaks into your home,rather than call the police he decides to make friends….

Also Jamal is supposedly a kid who plays basketball on the streets of New York,all of his friends seem to have low aspirations in life,they look down on people who see a positive in education,with this in mind you would think Jamal would be a little rough round the edges,instead he is well mannered and extremely polite to everyone,to make the story really work,Jamal would need to be the polar opposite to the way he is at the end,I don’t see it,he is a nice kid at the start,and it pretty much ends this way,im not saying Jamal should be carrying a gun and threatening people all over town,but there should be some middle ground,even if its just more of an attitude problem at the start of the movie.

Busta Rhymes,who plays the brother,is wooden at best,my whole body stiffened up each time he delivered a line.

I still enjoyed the film,I just think it could have been so much better,Sean Connery snatches respect from the moment he arrives on screen,Jamal (Rob Brown) performs well,just wish his character was developed a little more.

F. Murray Abraham plays the snot nosed professor who is annoyingly brilliant,every good character is only as strong as the bad character,Abraham in my opinion in one of the most underrated movie stars of the last 40 years,he has eyes that express more than just feelings.

7/10

KO