Finding Forrester

Plot Summary This is the time honored story of a poor, young, black and aspiring writer asking an old, grumpy, reclusive, prize-winning writer for guidance and thereby saving the mentor from himself. Sean Connery, Pulitzer Prize winner for his one and only book has holed up in his family apartment in the Bronx since his brother’s death after WWII. Jamal Wallace, sixteen-year-old neighbor who yearns to be a writer, but plays basketball to relate to his peers, accepts a dare to enter the recluse’s apartment. He is frightened by Forrester and drops his backpack containing his writing notebooks. The author edits and returns them and a dialogue begins. All of which is an awkward but effective conceit to bring the two together.

They forge a forever friendship based at first on the facts that they both write and their writing separates them from others. The older one can teach the younger. Over time the relationship deepens into personal, emotional territory and evolves into a partnership. The performances evolve with it, so the audience is drawn into the story, and kept there. Jamal is given a scholarship to a fancy uptown prep school, where he learns about competitive school sports, protective fathers, and how mean a disappointed teacher can be. He also learns about courage and loyalty. The happy endings to these lessons, which would not have gone as well in real life, are nonetheless satisfying, predictable or not. This is a charming, heartwarming story well-acted by all, peppered with some good dialogue. And squeaky clean enough to appeal across generations.

Commentary by Cicely d’Autremont

Quotes
William Forrester: "The key to a woman’s heart is an unexpected gift at an unexpected time."

William Forrester: "No thinking – that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is to write, not to think."

Jamal Wallace: “ 'The rest of those who have gone before us cannot steady the unrest of those to follow.' You wrote that in your book."

Prof. Robert Crawford: "Perhaps your skills do reach farther than basketball."
Jamal Wallace: "Further."
Prof. Robert Crawford: "What?"
Claire Spence, aside to Jamal: "Don’t…"
Jamal Wallace: "You said that my skills do reach farther than basketball. “Farther” relates to distance, “further” is a definition of degree. You should have said “further”.
Prof. Robert Crawford: "Are you challenging me, Mr. Wallace?"
Jamal Wallace: "Not any more than you challenged Coleridge."

Jamal Wallace: "Did you ever enter a writing contest?"
William Forrester: "Yeah, once."
Jamal Wallace: "Did you win?"
William Forrester: "Well, of course I won!"
Jamal Wallace: "You win, like, money?"
William Forrester: "No."
Jamal Wallace: "Well, whadchu win?"
William Forrester: "The Pulitzer."

William Forrester: "My name is William Forrester."
(He points to the writer’ wall of fame in the back of the classroom.)
William Forrester: "I’m that one."

William Forrester: "You’re the man now, dog!"

Trivia
Robert Crawford the character is based on Robert Crawford the English teacher at Philips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

When Jamal investigates Forrester on the computer, the data he finds are those of Sean Connery’s real life.

Rob Brown auditioned to be an extra in the film so he could pay his cell phone bill. He was asked by Gus Van Sant to audition for Jamal because the director liked his style.

Apparently Sean Connery cannot type, so hands on a keyboard purporting to be his are not.

Sources
IMDbTrivia Robert Crawford the character is based on Robert Crawford the English teacher at Philips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

When Jamal investigates Forrester on the computer, the data he finds are those of Sean Connery’s real life.

Rob Brown auditioned to be an extra in the film so he could pay his cell phone bill. He was asked by Gus Van Sant to audition for Jamal because the director liked his style.

Apparently Sean Connery cannot type, so hands on a keyboard purporting to be his are not.

Sources IMDbTrivia Robert Crawford the character is based on Robert Crawford the English teacher at Philips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

When Jamal investigates Forrester on the computer, the data he finds are those of Sean Connery’s real life.

Rob Brown auditioned to be an extra in the film so he could pay his cell phone bill. He was asked by Gus Van Sant to audition for Jamal because the director liked his style.

Apparently Sean Connery cannot type, so hands on a keyboard purporting to be his are not.

Sources
IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes
Wikipedia