Finding Forrester (2000)

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Because of scoring exceptionally high on a statewide standardized exam and being an exceptionally good basketball player Jamal Wallace is sent to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan. He soon befriends the reclusive writer, William Forrester. The friendship leads William to overcome his reclusiveness and for Jamal to overcome the racial prejudices and pursue his true dream - writing. Finding Forrester is a 2000 Drama starring Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin and Michael Pitt and the film was directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting). What i really liked about this film was the relationship between Jamal and William they had some sort of father and son relationship or whatever you wanna call it but both Brown and Connery are really great in this film and they have a pretty good chemistry plus i liked Abraham as Prof. Robert Crawford he was kinda of the main 'villain' of the Story because he didn't believe Jamal and he didn't believe that he would have a future besides Basketball of course Paquin is also really good. Overall i don't think that there's much more to say it was just a really good Drama with the main actors being really good in their roles and Gus Van Sant just knows how to direct a well made and well directed Drama plus Sean Connery is good in anything he stars.

WARNING Never expect the expected; Finding Forrester conveys a plot that leaves you wanting more from the movie. Each character supports one another profoundly. This film is recommended to anyone who's ever had a passion that become a drive to our constant lives. The movie allows the readers to understand clearly each character belonging as an archetype.In the beginning we see a city that intensifies mystery and hope. We see a group of teenagers playing basketball. Once their game is over they look over to a particular building next to the court. Then the camera zooms in to a particular window from the apartment building and then the camera zooms out again, but the teenagers have the look of curious on their face than ever before. Maybe it was curiosity or the fact, that every time the teenagers would come and play at the courts they would find the window's drapes moved to a different position. One night the teenagers dare the protagonist Jamal to climb the apartment building and discover what really happens in that apartment room. Once Jamal finally makes it appears to be a quite safe resort for someone. Jamal begins to search for any possessions that might be valuable, but soon he gets interrupted by the steps from someone. Jamal panics and begins to race off but suddenly he bumps into a man. Jamal is frighten but he continues to try and escape the room. What we don't discover at that moment is that Jamla begins his journey that will eventually turn him into the strongest conveying hero. This journey to Jamal begins as a blur and continues to be until he meets his mentor. Jamal has many situations that test his endurance as the person that he is suppose to be. For example he is tested over his intellectual ability and he has to prove that he is what most people this he is not. Jamal is willing to lose everything in order to save his friends rather than himself. That is why Jamal is one of the compelling movie archetypes there are.Without a doubt this leads us right next to the second most forceful archetypes there is in Finding Forrester. We find out about the man in the apartment and who he really is. This man is no other than Forrester himself. Forrester has become somewhat departed to society until Jamal meets him. The way Forrester and Jamal met was quite jocular at first and the second time was more of a second chance for Forrester. Immediately after Forrester literally opens his door for Jamal, Forrester accepts the challenge of being the mentor to Jamal. These two character become like a combination of yin and yang in order to have balance in their lives. Forrester has all the answers he is like the wise owl any piece of literature. He is perceived to be seen as that in order to serve for Jamal (the hero) as his conscience. Forrester teaches the key of writing to Jamal because Forrester is fully assured that Jamal is capable of having the capability of becoming a passionate writer like himself. Unquestionably at the end of the movie Forrester dies after completing every single aspect that he could do for Jamal… but just as we thought, Jamal is left with one last gift from Forrester. This gift has irony to represents the continuing of Forrester presence in Jamal's life even after Forrester's death, but also that this is just the being for Jamal's own story.In addition to Forrester, we find another reciprocal archetype character. She shows Jamal the challenges that he will face because she has faced them too. This character is Claire, she shares many common interests with Jamal which leads her to protect Jamal from any danger. Claire ends up falling in love with Jamal and he too falls in love with her. She is seen as both the herald and the lover in the movie because Claire in outcast that tries to fit in with the people she's has chosen to be around with. Claire is independent and tries to warn and teach this to Jamal in order for him help him understand what he needs to do with his life.Naturally, the hero has a shadow that tries to stop the protagonist from accomplishing his purpose in this case the shadow is Prof. Crawford. In the movie Prof. Crawford becomes the astonishing antagonist to have an enmity passion against Jamal. Jamal is tested by Prof. Crawford when he accuses Jamal that his writing is far too good for someone like him. Once Jamal embarrasses the professor in front of his class it's high fire throughout the movie. Prof. Crawford becomes filled with rage and assurance that Jamal is just a petty student who could never be better from where he comes from. Eternally there is a feeling that Prof. Crawford craves surpassing Jamal due to how much he lacks to be a writer. Prof. Crawford finally gets neutralized when Forrester shows up at the private school and surprises everyone for what particular reason he is there. Once he is done explain or more so reading Forrester explains to everyone that he has just read one of Jamal's pieces. Prof. Crawford is left in such shock he stutters and then is left speechless. For this reason, Prof Crawford is an excellent shadow that helps build the archetypes in the movie.Furthermore, Finding Forrester has many more character archetypes in the movie. These characters are the principal character archetypes that help move the movie's plot, they are like roots from Redwood trees that their roots intertwined together to help it grow into marvelous beauty. This is why Finding Forrester is one the best well driven movie plots where there is more archetypes and they play magnificent meaning to the movies message; friends help each other and will always be there even in moments where we lose all hope.

Finding Forrester, starring Sean Connery and Rob Brow, tells the tale of a simple kid from the Bronx getting his second chance at a new school. On a dare from his friends he finds a new mentor that he hopes will help him to be an amazing writer one day. Little did he know that this new mentor of his was a man in hiding. When Jamal Wallace gets to his new school he instantly makes a new friend that will be the only one to believe him when his teacher accuses him of cheating because his writing is just too good. After a slip up at the big game Jamal's mentor has to make the choice of whether his reputation or his friend is more important to him. This movie is about a writer's journey that I feel many book lovers or aspiring writers would enjoy watching. With not too many edge of the seat moments is allows you to sit back and watch all the small details that Gus Van Sant throws your way. Towards the beginning of the movie, Jamal and his friends are playing basketball when they catch the mysterious window man watching them. Because it is so common for them to see him and no one actually has ever met him before Jamal's friends decided to dare him to go into the window mans house. Thus the initiation of when the two main characters will meet and the journey will start. The next archetype that we see is the window man's tower. Since no one knows who the strange man is and why he is there we conclude that he is living in isolation. The only person we know that visits him is the guy driving the BMW that takes the window man his groceries. Later on in the movie we find that the window man chooses to be in isolation. When Jamal Wallace goes to visit the new school he is considering to go to you will notice that the color green is in almost every frame. When he is standing outside of the school the school's flag is a green color which leads you to think that their school color is green. Also when Jamal goes to the office to talk to the consular the walls are green. The color green is an Archetype for a new life or a new beginning. Which Jamal is getting with this new school. Not only will this school help him with his writing but they want him to play basketball for them in hopes that he will not only help them win but it will help him get a scholarship for college. Towards the end of the movie the basketball team is at the championship games and Jamal must score the last two points in order for the team to win. This is the task that the hero must complete in order to win for his school and save himself. But because Jamal is under so much pressure from his teacher accusing him of cheating, and him not being able to clear his name because he can't spoil the window man's secret, the task proves to be too difficult for Jamal. Therefore the window man is forced to come to crossroad. He has to decided if saving his friend Jamal is more important than keeping who he is a secret for the rest of his life. These Archetypes that Mike Rich chose to put into the movie aren't always noticeable to all but it helps to give direction. The classic archetypes give the movie the plot but the small ones give it details that allow the watcher to know where the movie is heading without giving away too many details

John Russum 4th Period Finding Forrester Movie AnalysisThe film Finding Forrester is an interesting story about a boy from the Bronx named Jamal. Jamal like the majority of his friends enjoy the game of basketball, however Jamal has another talent that he prefers to keep hidden. After his excellent test scores he is offered to go to a private school to further both his basketball career and academic career. This film illustrates the journey of Jamal's life as he is learning more about not just writing but also life lessons from his un expected mentor from "The window". This journey will not only benefit Jamal but also William Forester as he learns about friendship.This film was very well developed and organized, I truly believe that there are not many people who will dislike watching this movie, however I do believe it takes an educated mind to be able to truly understand the point that the movie writer in trying to make. Therefore, while I do believe this movie could be enjoyed by just about every age group if you lack knowledge in author's purpose it could be very hard to understand the true meaning of the film. This film illustrated an abundance of archetypal characters throughout the movie. Who you would expect to be the hero, Jamal would better reflect the qualities of an initiate in the earlier parts of the film. Though he is very bright and intelligent he still lacks many skills which he seeks to learn from his mentor. Jamal is very self educated and is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in as shown in many scenes of the movie. He lives with his mom and brother which care for him very much and want what is best for him to better his life. William Forester could be best represented as the mentor in the film. Although at the beginning of the film he is seen as a creepy stalker who most people think is a murderer is actually a great mentor and is very important to this story line. At first him and Jamal don't exactly see eye to eye but that changes over the course of the year as he critiques not only his writing skills but also big life lessons. Jamal's father is unknown of in this film which allows his mentor (Mr. Forester) to be a father figure for him. Claire is a close friend of Jamal's after he switches schools to Mailor-Callow. From day one she helps him get used to everything and it's easy to tell that they will be close friends as the school year goes on. It quickly becomes obvious that Jamal and Claire become very fond of each other and their feelings grow closer making her the temptress. Early in his basketball career at his new school he meets the star player John Hartwell which they quickly go head to head and are very aggressive toward each other on the court. It would be easiest to depict him as the threshold guardian, a prime example of this would be when both John and Jamal are scrimmaging in practice and Jamal is trying to prove himself worthy of having a spot on the team. The Archetypes displayed throughout this film is truly what allowed the story line to not only flow better but also grab the audience's attention. When you are able to have multiple connections to the main character like in this film it really puts the focus on Jamal as being an underdog that rises to the top due to the help of others (even if the help was unintended).