Raised in the Bronx along side thugs and criminals, Jamal Wallace possesses an impressive set of intellectual skills which many do not. Afraid to stand out, Jamal hides his intelligence only showing it on the school's standardized test. Shortly after revealing his gift, Jamal stumbles upon William Forrester, a famous book writer that had been out of the media for years. After Jamal discovers Forrester, a bond forms as the two create works of writing together which Jamal will uses for his school. After receiving Jamal's test scores, a prestigious private school, Mailor Callow, ask Jamal to attend their school for free. Accepting their offer, Jamal has to overcome the challenges of changing schools and face new people such as his professor Mr. Crawford who is not as smart as Jamal therefore feels threatened by Jamal's attendance. Jamal battles through school with the help of his new found friend Forrester who in the end, gets Jamal into a tangle by helping him. Jamal and Forrester grow close to each other as time goes on helping each other with their battles and finding peace and happiness in each other.The film Finding Forrester is possible one of the best films in existence. Showing the challenges of life and how a well bonded friendship can fix nearly anything, the film reaches out and touches your heart while still being humorous and showing what life is like in the Bronx. Unlike most other films Finding Forrester allows the viewer to see that not everyone's life is cotton candy and rainbows, however it does show that even with a tough life, everyone still has the opportunity to succeed in life. I believe that many people would enjoy this film seeing that it is a story of success and who doesn't like to hear about other peoples accomplishments. Also if, like myself, you come from a family of people that don't attend college let alone finish high school, this film is easy to connect with giving it a personal touch.Throughout this movie the director had several different archetypes that made the movie almost seem like a fairy tale. One major archetype in this film was William Forrester who was "the mentor". Teaching Jamal several life lessons Forrester helped Jamal through the tough times and even helped fight off Jamal's "evil adversary" Mr. Crawford. Mr. Crawford repeatedly attacked Jamal throughout the film until finally trying to kick him out of the school due to Jamal's intelligence. Jamal's "mentor" Forrester lived in an apartment that could be seen as a "tower". This apartment was his tower of solitude which he hardly ever came out of and almost seemed if he was locked away for life hiding from pesky paparazzi. Throughout most of the movie the scenes show a dark and gloomy sky almost as if their is a darkness over Jamal, however in the end of the movie after both Jamal and Forrester have overcome their challenges the skies clear up and everyone is happy. I believe that the writer and director created these different archetypes to represent that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that just because you were born somewhere or in a family of certain people, that does not mean you have to live your whole life in that place.

Finding Forrester Movie Review Gus Van Sant's (2000) film, Finding Forrester, shows a building friendship between a teenage athlete/writer (Jamal), and an old author incognito (William Forrester.) One day, Jamal was dared to go into what him and his friends thought was a murderer's apartment, to steal something, so he did. However, William Forrester was home, and when he found out that someone was in his house, he started yelling at the intruder (Jamal.) Jamal ran out of the grouchy old man's apartment, causing him to forget his backpack, which had all of his school work in it. The next day, Jamal and his friends see his backpack hanging in the crotchety old man's window, the old man throws it from the window and Jamal takes it home, only to find that all of his writing had revision notes all over it, written by the old man. Jamal is impressed with all of the notes on his writing, so he returns to the man's apartment in search of more help with his writing. After a few tries, Jamal finally gives up on asking for the man's help, so he sits on the stairs, when finally, an old bearded man opens the door and asks Jamal what he wants. After a few daily visits, and learning more about the man, Jamal finds out that the man is a famous author named William Forrester. William said that he would start helping Jamal with his writing, as long as he wouldn't blow his cover or take any of their writing outside of the apartment. Jamal's grades increase, causing a fancy private school, "Mailor- Callow" to offer him a full ride to the school. Jamal goes to the school to check it out and meets a girl named Claire that helps him find his way around, (which he also becomes friends with.) Jamal decides to attend "Mailor-Callow", and is placed on the basketball team as well as being placed in an advanced placement literature class with a rude professor, Robert Crawford. William continues to give Jamal advice with his writing, which results in his professor thinking that he his plagiarizing. In the end, William Forrester ends up going to Jamal's new school, and he reads one of Jamal's writings. The whole class is appalled ,and then William states that the piece that he read was Jamal's writing and they all start cheering because most of them had believed Jamal all along. A little while later, William decides to get out of his house and go see some relatives in Scotland. He says goodbye to Jamal and leaves for his new adventure, leaving Jamal with all of his belongings and apartment. There are many archetypes used in this film. One of the archetypes would be the darkness (in William Forrester's house), another archetype would be the birds shown in Williams's photo book. Another archetype would be 'the task' (when Jamal must score the winning shot), as well as 'a crossroads'(when William comes to save Jamal.) I believe that the movie director used these archetypes to make an 'ordinary' film into something more heroic. I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone, it has a great story and i believe that it should be credited more.

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.

Finding forrester is a solid 8/10 stars. Because no movie is perfect, even though this film comes close. The story begins with a kid rapping to set the scene in the greater bronx area. With a student/ protagonist named jamal. Jamal is a competition grade writer but refuses to show this to his mentors. Until his test scores come back and he is sent to a private school with a teacher that does not trust him. Jamal then sneaks into a flat to see the (window man). In which he Gets spotted and leaves his bag. He later received his bag back only to find all his journals with notes scattered throughout. this man in the window was william forrester we later find out. A man who wrote one of the greater novels of all time. Jamal then slowly starts to gain foresters trust to help him learn his true potential in writing. Where forrester keeps giving lessons and jamal gets greater and greater. So when he writes his big paper and steals the title of one of forrester's previous works, jamal finds himself about to be kicked out of the private school even though he wrote that paper. Even with that they don't let it go. the school later decides to make a deal with jamal saying if he helps them win state for basketball they will let it slide. To which he fails. Later on he quits basketball to focus on writing and many colleges are looking to give him scholarships. Overall i think you will like this movie if u are into with hero/ mentor movies along with writers. Or just about anyone. I would recommend this movie.