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Movies / Upcoming / Finding Forrester
Finding Forrester

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Finding Forrester (2000)

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Reviews Counted:121

Fresh:89

Rotten:32

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Despite the predictability of its plot and its similarity to Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester has an honest, solid feel to it and good rapport between Connery and Brown.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $51,370,406

Synopsis: Director Gus Van Sant brings to the screen this moving story of a grizzled recluse and an inner-city teenager brought together by their shared passion for writing. Like Van Sant's Oscar-nominated... Director Gus Van Sant brings to the screen this moving story of a grizzled recluse and an inner-city teenager brought together by their shared passion for writing. Like Van Sant's Oscar-nominated GOOD WILL HUNTING, FINDING FORRESTER earnestly explores the struggles of a youthful genius whose position in society (underprivileged kid from the wrong side of the tracks) makes him seem destined for failure until he forms a relationship with a gifted but introverted mentor who helps him see the light.The youthful genius is a talented urban basketball player named Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), who in his spare time reads everything he can get his hands on, secretly scribbling prose and poetry into a composition pad. The introverted mentor is William Forrester (Sean Connery), who took the literary world by storm with his debut novel, AVALON RISING, 50 years earlier but now spends whole days shut inside his Bronx apartment looking out the window onto a basketball court where Jamal hangs out. Buoyed by excellent performances from Connery and newcomer Brown, FINDING FORRESTER paints a compelling, alluring portrait of friendship while offering intriguing insights into the heart and soul of the dedicated writer. [More]

Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, Anna Paquin, F. Murray Abraham

Starring: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, Anna Paquin, F. Murray Abraham, Busta Rhymes, Michael Nouri, Tom Mullica, Lil' Zane

Director: Gus Van Sant

Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Mike Rich
Producer: Laurence Mark, Sean Connery, Rhonda Tollefson
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Reviews for Finding Forrester

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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For all of Gus Van Sant’s narrative weavings, for all of his grabs towards emotions and reactions, it amounts to little; a belated film with belated functions.

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
05/06/01
Luke Buckmaster
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/30/01
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
10/30/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Finding Forrester is almost worth seeing for Connery and Brown, but it's a lot to ask for people to sit through 136 minutes when only about a third of it is any good.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

There's plenty here that feels real and true.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
02/07/01
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

The movie eventually turns ridiculous, as you thought it might.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
12/20/00
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday

If "Good Will Hunting" and "Scent of a Woman" were to meet some moonlit night, consummate and make a child, "Finding Forester" would be their adolescent son.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
02/07/01
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

A simplistic, irritating, and often ridiculous travesty posing as a feel-good movie.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
12/20/00
Rod Armstrong
Rod Armstrong
Reel.com

At times you can feel Van Sant trying to loosen the movie's windpipe-folding collar, but he doesn't get far, except with Busta Rhymes, as Jamal's gone-nowhere big brother, whose moments are so full of bounce and warmth they feel like invasions from the sc

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/19/00
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice

Mostrando una entrañable historia del alumno-maestro, el filme de Van Sant se convierte en una placentera experiencia fílmica

Full Review Source: Moviola | comment Comment
04/12/01
Jorge Avila Andrade
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola

It is very easy to watch.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
12/26/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Its unhurried exploration of the interaction between the two leads is worth spending a couple hours in a movie theater.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
12/18/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

A solidly enjoyable, fairly cerebral feature raised above its roots by stout performances from its two leads.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
12/25/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Finding Forrester is a positive experience, a movie you can sit back and enjoy. It will make you laugh, anger you at times, and may even bring a tear to your eye. Itís a movie that may envelop you like a warm hug.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Van Sant should be lauded for taking on a movie that places such a high premium on the life of the mind.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
12/21/00
Philip Booth
Philip Booth
Orlando Weekly

Van Sant takes the cliches and gives them a half spin that makes them seem fresh and almost accidental. He's like an inspired jazz musician improvising on an old, too-familiar tune and making it his own.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
12/22/00
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

Director Gus Van Sant accentuates the give-and-take in this unlikely friendship. It's a story of the lost and found.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

[Van Sant's] visual lyricism and uncondescending attitude toward almost everyone on screen ensure that the film won't succumb to formula.

comment Comment
12/21/00
Mark Caro
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune

A juicy and gratifying teacher movie.

comment Comment
12/26/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe

To dismiss Finding Forrester as just a rehash of Good Will Hunting is not entirely fair.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
02/07/01
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com
 
 
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