Finding Forrester: Difference between revisions
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''Finding Forrester'' is the story of Jamal Wallace's life in the rough world of the inner city. Although Jamal is intellectually gifted, he puts little effort into his schoolwork to avoid criticism from his friends. On a dare, he sneaks into a recluse's apartment and, to his surprise, befriends the inhabitant. The man helps Jamal with his writing, in exchange for Jamal keeping a secret: the man is William Forrester, the secluded author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, ''Avalon Landing'', his only published book. When a highly selective private school, Mailor Callow, sees Jamal's test results, he is offered a scholarship. Jamal accepts, although it is a major culture shock to go to this elite school. He is immediately befriended by a board member's daughter and becomes a prominent figure on the school's basketball team, which eases the transition. |
''Finding Forrester'' is the story of Jamal Wallace's life in the rough world of the inner city. Although Jamal is intellectually gifted, he puts little effort into his schoolwork to avoid criticism from his friends. On a dare, he sneaks into a recluse's apartment and, to his surprise, befriends the inhabitant. The man helps Jamal with his writing, in exchange for Jamal keeping a secret: the man is William Forrester, the secluded author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, ''Avalon Landing'', his only published book. When a highly selective private school, Mailor Callow, sees Jamal's test results, he is offered a scholarship. Jamal accepts, although it is a major culture shock to go to this elite school. He is immediately befriended by a board member's daughter and becomes a prominent figure on the school's basketball team, which eases the transition. |
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Later, a professor named Crawford, who was swiftly beaten by Jamal in an argument regarding another student, accuses him of plagiarism because he handed in a re-written essay of one of Forrester's works that was published in a magazine in 1960. The essay had been written by Jamal in Forrester's apartment, and despite the fact that he was told to keep anything he wrote in Forrester's house in, he turned it in. In the end, Forrester pays a surprise visit to the school to address the professor's accusations in person |
Later, a professor named Crawford, who was swiftly beaten by Jamal in an argument regarding another student, accuses him of plagiarism because he handed in a re-written essay of one of Forrester's works that was published in a magazine in 1960. The essay had been written by Jamal in Forrester's apartment, and despite the fact that he was told to keep anything he wrote in Forrester's house in, he turned it in. In the end, Forrester pays a surprise visit to the school to address the professor's accusations in person with subtlety: he read what everyone assumed was his own unknown writing, then revealed it was Jamal's work, proving Jamal's innocence. The school drops all charges against Jamal and allows him to stay. However, Forrester, confident that Jamal will be able to take care of himself now, decides to return to Scotland. |
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Years later, during his senior year, Jamal is a successful student and has received many enrollment offers from prestigious universities. However, he is informed by Forrester's attorney that Forrester had died of cancer. In accordance with Forrester's will, Jamal is given a letter and a package. Jamal reads the letter, in which Forrester thanks Jamal for helping him rekindle his desire to fulfill his dreams. At the end of the film, it is revealed that the package contains the manuscript for Forrester's second, and last novel, called ''Sunset'' for which Jamal is to write the foreword. |
Years later, during his senior year, Jamal is a successful student and has received many enrollment offers from prestigious universities. However, he is informed by Forrester's attorney that Forrester had died of cancer. In accordance with Forrester's will, Jamal is given a letter and a package. Jamal reads the letter, in which Forrester thanks Jamal for helping him rekindle his desire to fulfill his dreams. At the end of the film, it is revealed that the package contains the manuscript for Forrester's second, and last novel, called ''Sunset'' for which Jamal is to write the foreword. |
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Revision as of 17:21, 19 June 2009
| Finding Forrester | |
|---|---|
 original film poster | |
| Directed by | Gus Van Sant |
| Written by | Mike Rich |
| Produced by | Sean Connery Laurence Mark Rhonda Tollefson |
| Starring | Sean Connery Rob Brown F. Murray Abraham Anna Paquin |
| Cinematography | Harris Savides |
| Edited by | Valdís Óskarsdóttir |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | December 19, 2000 |
Running time | 136 min. |
Finding Forrester is a 2000 movie, written by Mike Rich and directed by Gus Van Sant, about a teenager, Jamal Wallace, played by Rob Brown, who is accepted into a prestigious private high school. He also befriends a reclusive writer, William Forrester, played by Sean Connery.
Anna Paquin, F. Murray Abraham, and Busta Rhymes also star in supporting roles. Matt Damon makes a brief cameo appearance near the end of the film. New York poet Geoffrey Cruickshank-Hagenbuckle provided several notebooks worth of intense handwriting to portray Forrester's notebooks in the film. Principal photography was shot entirely in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn (many Mailor Academy scenes were filmed at Regis High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan), with some scenery and pick-up shots made in suburban Toronto, Ontario, during post-production. Parts of the film were also shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[1]
The movie is also famous for a particular line in the movie's trailer. Connery utters the phrase "You're the man now, dog," which became a popular internet meme, and was also the inspiration for the website YTMND.com.
Plot
Finding Forrester is the story of Jamal Wallace's life in the rough world of the inner city. Although Jamal is intellectually gifted, he puts little effort into his schoolwork to avoid criticism from his friends. On a dare, he sneaks into a recluse's apartment and, to his surprise, befriends the inhabitant. The man helps Jamal with his writing, in exchange for Jamal keeping a secret: the man is William Forrester, the secluded author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Avalon Landing, his only published book. When a highly selective private school, Mailor Callow, sees Jamal's test results, he is offered a scholarship. Jamal accepts, although it is a major culture shock to go to this elite school. He is immediately befriended by a board member's daughter and becomes a prominent figure on the school's basketball team, which eases the transition.
Later, a professor named Crawford, who was swiftly beaten by Jamal in an argument regarding another student, accuses him of plagiarism because he handed in a re-written essay of one of Forrester's works that was published in a magazine in 1960. The essay had been written by Jamal in Forrester's apartment, and despite the fact that he was told to keep anything he wrote in Forrester's house in, he turned it in. In the end, Forrester pays a surprise visit to the school to address the professor's accusations in person with subtlety: he read what everyone assumed was his own unknown writing, then revealed it was Jamal's work, proving Jamal's innocence. The school drops all charges against Jamal and allows him to stay. However, Forrester, confident that Jamal will be able to take care of himself now, decides to return to Scotland.
Years later, during his senior year, Jamal is a successful student and has received many enrollment offers from prestigious universities. However, he is informed by Forrester's attorney that Forrester had died of cancer. In accordance with Forrester's will, Jamal is given a letter and a package. Jamal reads the letter, in which Forrester thanks Jamal for helping him rekindle his desire to fulfill his dreams. At the end of the film, it is revealed that the package contains the manuscript for Forrester's second, and last novel, called Sunset for which Jamal is to write the foreword.
Critical response
When Finding Forrester opened in December 2000, it received mostly positive reviews. It garnered two thumbs up from Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper. Roeper considered it one of the ten best films of 2000.
Connections to real-life authors
Connections to J. D. Salinger
Although William Forrester is a fictitious character, there are some noticeable parallels between his life and that of the American author J. D. Salinger:
- Both Forrester and Salinger are notoriously reclusive authors.
- In the movie Forrester blocked a biography of himself that the character Prof. Robert Crawford was going to have published. Salinger did the same thing through a lawsuit against Ian Hamilton.
- Screenwriter Mike Rich mentions that it was the apparently unsociable traits common to some revered American authors (including Salinger and Thomas Pynchon) which inspired the story[2]
- Both ceased to publish following early successful works: Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey and Forrester's Avalon Landing.
- In his Glass family stories, Salinger's narrator, Buddy Glass, is obsessed with his dead older brother Seymour. In the movie, Jamal, discussing Forrester's novel, tells Forrester that he thinks "somebody else" was the book's inspiration; Forrester later reveals he has a dead brother who (we are led to infer) inspired him to write Avalon Landing.
- Both Forrester and Salinger continued to write despite not publishing, including filing systems for their work.
- Both Forrester and Salinger published work in the New Yorker.
Connections to Ray Bradbury
- An alternative parallel can be found in Ray Bradbury's semi-autobiographical Dandelion Wine in which one of the leading characters is named William Forrester and is an author with a single published book.
Connections to Ralph Ellison
- When we first see Forrester, he is looking down from his window, with binoculars, at some boys playing basketball. In Invisible Man, first published in The Atlantic (December 1970), we learn that Ralph Ellison watches boys playing basketball from the window of his apartment using binoculars, just like Forrester.
Music
The Soundtrack listing was made available on December 19, 2006. The only track that appears in the movie that is not on the soundtrack is the music played during the Bike Ride that Sean Connery's character takes. The song is named "'Finding Forrester' Bike Ride" and is from 'Schulwerk' by Carl Orff (more specifically the Gassenhauer track) it was arranged and produced by Bill Brown.[3]
Soundtrack Track Listing[4]
- "Recollections" (Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Jack DeJohnette, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul)
- "Little Church" (Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Jack DeJohnette, Steve Grossman, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett, John McLaughlin)
- "Black Satin" (David Creamer, Miles Davis, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, James Mtume, Badal Roy, Collin Walcott)
- "Under a Golden Sky" (Bill Frisell)
- "Happy House" (Ed Blackwell, Bobby Bradford, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins, Dewey Redman)
- "Over the Rainbow (Photo Book)" (Bill Frisell)
- "Lonely Fire" [Excerpt]( Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Dave Holland, Bennie Maupin, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul)
- "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole)
- "Vonetta" (Ron Carter, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams)
- "Coffaro's Theme" (Curtis Fowlkes, Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang, Ron Miles)
- "Foreigner in a Free Land" (Ornette Coleman, The London Symphony Orchestra, David Measham)
- "Beautiful E." (Joey Baron, Kermit Driscoll, Bill Frisell, Hank Roberts)
- "In a Silent Way [DJ Cam Remix]" (Miles Davis)
References
- ^ "Internet Movie Database - List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario". Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ Newmarket Press: Finding Forrester
- ^ http://billbrownmusic.com/musicFTV1.htm#Forrester
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Forrester-Various-Artists-Soundtrack/dp/B000056BUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242755745&sr=8-1