Find Your Way To Edmond Town Hall For This Week’s Screenings Of ‘Finding Forrester’

For this week’s column I had planned to write a glowing review of Memento, the astonishing new film playing at Bethel Cinema. However, I must admit I’m still chewing on the film. I’m dying to see it again before I discuss it further, and need to consider how to expound on this movie without giving too much away (which would be a crime!). Therefore, the topic of this column has been changed to Finding Forrester, a film much easier to categorize (think Scent of a Woman) but none the less satisfying for it.

Now playing at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, Finding Forrester casts Sean Connery in the role of a cranky, cantankerous recluse who resides in the Bronx and has developed into somewhat of an urban legend among the neighborhood locals, who have dubbed him “Window.” When one of the teens, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), takes on a dare to sneak into the shadowy apartment, he eventually comes face to face with this enigmatic figure, a man revealed to be William Forrester, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who wrote “the great American novel” and was never heard from again. Though on the surface there seems to be little in common between the two, Jamal has in fact found a kindred spirit, for he too is a recluse of sorts.

A budding basketball talent at his public high school, Jamal has kept hidden and isolated from society his true giftedness and passion: literature. A voracious reader and even more prolific writer, Jamal locked up his abilities for fear of being separate and different from his childhood friends. But his secret can be kept no longer when his aptitude test scores gain the attention of an esteemed private school that recruits him into its fold. Jamal finds himself spurred on to further develop his natural gifts on and off the basketball court, and for an assist he turns to Forrester, who agrees to aid Jamal under the condition that the identity of the young student’s new mentor (and indeed, his very existence) be kept a complete mystery.

Director Gus Van Sant, coming off the curious Psycho remake, returns to the quieter, yet more fulfilling dramatic ground of his Good Will Hunting. There, he mounted one of the most complex, rounded observations of the various facets of male relationships seen in a mainstream movie in quite some time. Here, he continues some strong work in examining human relationships and the importance of maintaining and strengthening ties with the world around us instead of segregating ourselves from others and ultimately only shunting our own growth. If there’s any complaint with Van Sant’s work in this movie it’s a minor one alluded to earlier: the latter third of the film, while rousing and particularly successful as a timely heartwarmer during last holiday season, rekindles perhaps a few too many memories of the crowd-pleasing climax of Scent of a Woman, thus keeping Van Sant’s latest from truly hitting modern classic status.

Nonetheless, Finding Forrester is a keeper, thanks also in large part to the robust, lively and likable performances by the cast, especially Connery and Brown. As a newcomer to the big screen, Brown truly impresses with his composure, unaffected manner and ability to go one-on-one confidently with veteran screen star Connery. As for the beloved, Oscar-winning actor, his charisma has perhaps never been more potent, but he also allows himself to convey more vulnerability than we’ve seen on-screen from him in recent memory, and his portrayal is all the more richer for it.

Thus, Finding Forrester, rated PG-13 for some strong language and references, is an entertaining, well-made film that will make you glad you found your way to the theater to catch it.