Finding Forrester (2000)

Perfect cast and a good story

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Excellent adaptation.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I completely stole those words from reviewer: danhicks from Minnesota. (just wanted to create a one-liner) Oh its gotta be five lines minimum. One of the things in the movie I thought was under developed was the negative vibe between Jamal and the 'rich' black kid played by Matthew Noah Word. "You may think we're the same. We're not." Wow, that's such a horrible attitude.

Finding Forrester (2000) Jeffery Berdine Senior at Weatherford High SchoolThe story of Finding Forrester is about a teenage boy named Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) who in the eyes of others, is like any teenager from the Bronx. He has a talent for the written word, something that peaks the interest of a grumpy tenant, who Jamal meets after breaking into his apartment for a dare. Jamal soon visits the ill- natured older man, who turns out to be Mr. William Forrester (Sean Connery) a once famous author, now a recluse. Mr. Forrester helps Jamal write the way any good writer should, soon when Jamal goes to a new and better school for his test taking talents. After Jamal turns in one of the works of writing in, it causes a tear between him and Forrester, and his English teacher Mr. Crawford (F. Murray Abraham). The amazingness of the writing causes the teacher to doubt his credibility of the work, because of Jamal's background , soon causing the two, in a word into mortal enemies. A silver lining appears in the form of William Forrester, two lives are changed for eternity.Finding Forrester was a film I found that I really enjoyed, the bond between Jamal and Forrester was a good part of why I liked it. The unusual friendship caused me to be intrigued. This would possibly interest all types of people mature enough, for some of the language used, but possibly anyone.The four Archetypes I have seen the most are the Mentor, a Tower, the Hero, and unity. First the Mentor, which in this movie is Mr. William Forrester, helping Jamal with not just his writing, but his personal life as well. Jamal swaps roles with Forrester at near the end and becomes his mentor. Next the Tower is represented as Mr. Forrester's Apartment, an alone building, sitting by itself. Where Forrester chooses to be alone, to escape the rest of humanity. A Hero, but not an average hero, a hero that doesn't really conform to the archetype, but nevertheless brings Forrester into the light. Finally the one, Unity, again the lone apartment building, the one place the two continuously are in this film, the main area, or stage of the film. The one place they are drawn, the one place Jamal stays.Now, why the writers used these very archetypes is possibly for their simple story telling. The hero has a not great child hood, meets an older man who then becomes his mentor for they share a talent or same interest. Originally the mentor has kept himself locked away, but the hero rescues him in a way he can't believe, then the help each other maybe not at the same time, but they do. This one tower, becomes their place of congregation, and becomes a center stage for most of the story.With four archetypes you can create an entire world, and that's what happened and any story could possibly be as amazing as this one. I would recommend this to anyone to watch, as it is very heartwarming, and anything with Sean Connery, must be good.

A very unlikely friendship develops between two people, Jamal Wallace( Rob Brown) A 16 Year old kid who lives in the Bronx and William Forrester( Sean Connery), a reclusive old man who lives on the top floor of the building across the street from where Jamal plays basketball. Early in their friendship Jama receives a scholarship to a private school called Mailor;when this happens Mr.Forrester takes Jamal under his wing and really becomes his mentor. Throughout the movie Jamal becomes a mentor to Mr.Forrester too because he teaches Mr.Forrester how to live again; this is very atypical because mentoring usually comes from someone wiser and older, like Mr.Forrester. Mr.Crawford(F.Murray Abraham)would be known as the antagonist in this movie, his job as a professor is a substitute for being a writer. He keeps his students on a leash and doesn't give them a chance to rise to their full potential;nobody can speak out against him. Claire Spence( Anna Paquin) can be seen as the light in the movie, she gave him knowledge and helped him find his way. Her small role is important because she warns him about how Mr.Crawford is. That became a challenge for Jamal,by not letting Mr.Crawford keep him in a box like he does everyone else. Jamal's mother also plays a small but significant role in the movie. A mother's role in any movie is very important ,because whether they play a good or bad role that can have an effect on how you see the main character( the assumptions you first make of them).Janice Wallace plays a part in helping him reach his full potential by giving him the choice to go to this school. This movie is such an inspiring movie, the whole story line is based on friendship that wouldn't normally happen between two people like this; they come from two very different backgrounds. I will definitely be watching this movie a second time and a third, a fourth and so on. I would recommend this movie to anybody who is willing to not exactly be entertained by this movie but be inspired.

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).