Finding Forrester (2000)

74% of critics liked it
(124 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(79,014 ratings)

In the spirit of his Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant directs this tale of the unlikely bond that develops between an aging, reclusive novelist named Forrester (Sean Connery) -- who hasn't written anything since winning a Pulitzer Prize decades earlier -- and Jamal (Rob Brown), a… More In the spirit of his Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant directs this tale of the unlikely bond that develops between an aging, reclusive novelist named Forrester (Sean Connery) -- who hasn't written anything since winning a Pulitzer Prize decades earlier -- and Jamal (Rob Brown), a 16-year-old with a hidden desire to be a writer. When Jamal is cited for his athleticism in basketball by an elite Manhattan prep school, he is forced to adapt to an environment far from his South Bronx upbringing, and a small mishap leads him to the eccentric, uneasy Forrester. After their initial apprehension of each other, they begin to fuel each other's fire for writing, and become unlikely friends despite their ages and backgrounds. Forrester's devotion to Jamal becomes enhanced when he must defend allegations of plagiarism enforced by Professor Crawford (F. Murray Abraham), jeopardizing Jamal's future. The film also features Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, and Zane Copeland, Jr.. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 16 min.
Directed By: Gus Van Sant
Written By: Mike Rich
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 20, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Apr 24, 2001
Studio: Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
If director Gus Van Sant had always been a hack it wouldn't matter so much, but personally I find this form of licking the audience's cheeks like an obsequious puppy deeply offensive.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
An anti-intellectual film about the intellectual life.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Funny and touching.
(CNN.com) Paul Clinton, CNN.com
A rare find.
Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer
A rewarding exploration of the knotty and often contentious relationship between teacher and protege. Its chief pleasure is the master class in the art of acting delivered by Sean Connery.
Laura Miller, Salon.com
A conventional stew of overblown, bogus emotion and rigged catharsis.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Quality characters, solid film; OK for ages 14+.
Nick Rogers, Suite101.com
Lost in "Forrester's" dismissal is appreciation for its relatively piss-and-vinegar approach to the act of creating fiction. Jazzy, classicist and a bit meta, the film's unexpectedly urbane quirks resemble Jonathan Demme films at their mainstream best.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Brown, in his acting debut, displays the balance of book smarts, street smarts, and vulnerability that is crucial to the part.
, Film4
Rather hollow effort.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
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.
, Time Out
The leaden screenplay can be fingered for many of the film's faults. But what happened to the off-kilter film-maker last seen at work in To Die For?
Ron Wells, Film Threat
Finding Forrester is not the fastest-paced film in the world, nor the most stirring. It is however the most complete portrait of what it means to be a writer that I've seen in a long time.
Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs
It's a really good movie.
Alex Ramirez, Cinenganos
La cinta es disfrutable aunque uno no sea de color, buen tirador de tiros libres, o buen escritor.
Christopher Tookey, Daily Mail [UK]
All signs of intelligent life are sacrificed to Hollywood formula and liberal wish-fulfilment.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
The relationship between Connery and Brown is powerful enough to sustain the story.
Eugene Novikov, Film Blather
It is a film about intelligence in unlikely places that, paradoxically, requires you to check your brain at the door.
Jim Shelby, Palo Alto Weekly
A pleasant movie we've all seen before.
Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
A nice-looking, nice-feeling exercise in conventionalism that sure could use a couple of transvestites and maybe a house falling from the sky.

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

danny d

partially inspired by salinger, connery's performance was wonderful and the screenplay was stellar. this is the film that put me on to writing.
Lenny M

A bit slow and dreary, still filled with life and literary shenanigans! You're the man now dog (Scottish accent).
Tsubaki S

What the fuck is this shit, dawg?
Jason O

Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), a black teen who is from the Bronx, is at a difficult path in his life. First of all, he's from one of the toughest places in the country, the Bronx. But, he is getting to the age where he wants to actually do something with his life. Jamal is a… More
Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), a black teen who is from the Bronx, is at a difficult path in his life. First of all, he's from one of the toughest places in the country, the Bronx. But, he is getting to the age where he wants to actually do something with his life. Jamal is a polished basketball player, but he has just as much skill and fondness in writing. Call it coincedence, but Jamal happens to meet and even become friends with a troubled, but famous author by the name of William Forrester (Sean Connery). Mr. Forrester only wrote one book, and that book was written over 40 years ago, but it is still very widely acclaimed. Jamal has a strong interest in touching up his great writing skills and he thinks that Mr. Forrester just might be able to help him on his path. Like some of the other reviewers mentioned, "Finding Forrester" is a bit cliched, heartwarming, and so on, but that's not to take away from it being a great movie. As always, Sean Connery does a spectacular job of acting, and Rob Brown did a good job of playing as the ambitious Jamal Wallace. Even as cliched and formulaic as "Finding Forrester" might be, it is still a great movie. If you're like me and you don't really care about how smart a movie is or how original it is in its innovations with plots, scripts, and so on, give "Finding Forrester" a chance. It's well worth it. It's a great movie of inspiration, tough times, and finding the fire inside to be the best you can be. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. I always love self-discovery and coming of age movies!
Coxxie M

8th grade. dont remember. Sean Connery can act the pants off a virgin. Gus Van Sant still needs a biography, flixster.
Lorenzo v

"In an ordinary place, he found the one person to make his life extraordinary." An afro-american teen writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author. <center>"In an ordinary place, he found the one person to make his life extraordinary." An afro-american teen writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author. <center>REVIEW</center> Authentic, high-concept, the film refreshes with its wonderful storytelling through setting and rich characterization, sold perfectly by an outstanding core of actors. The character of Jamal played brilliantly by an unknown, Rob Brown; he manages to make me wonder whether he really isn't Jamal. Sean Connery is wonderful to watch as an eccentric Salinger-type author, F. Murray Abraham played this as perfect as anything seen, and every supporting actor performed such that we are never disturbed from the story. And the director certainly gets credit for balancing high-concept with the constraints. Whatever style he used to guide his cast, it surely let them shine and sold the movie. Upon second watching, the evocative soundtrack provides deep storytelling wonder not found in even many of the prominent great films which relied on the soundtrack to reverberate emotionally--not provide more story elements. What still stays with me is the haunting closing with a beautiful song medley, arranged such that the overplayed songs are given new life and totally different candor, and a camera angle that my slow wit only picked up on the second time: the shot was from the apartment.
Red L

I saw this for the second time today. I am a sucker for movies of self-discovery, and this movie fits that bill - for both Jamal and Forrester. Much of the movie is spent in Forrester's condo where the two of them become friends while writing stories. I enjoyed their… More
I saw this for the second time today. I am a sucker for movies of self-discovery, and this movie fits that bill - for both Jamal and Forrester. Much of the movie is spent in Forrester's condo where the two of them become friends while writing stories. I enjoyed their performances, and also Anna Paquin's role as a student who takes Jamal under her wing. If you like inspirational movies, watch this one.
Candy R

Movie about two different people - a novelist recluse and a teenage basketball player.
Mike S

Being somewhat of a writer myself, and currently partaking in a writing course in college, I found this movie to be particularily compelling. Connery is very believable as the reclusive writer that he plays here and the story was very interesting throughout, even though it moved a bit… More
Being somewhat of a writer myself, and currently partaking in a writing course in college, I found this movie to be particularily compelling. Connery is very believable as the reclusive writer that he plays here and the story was very interesting throughout, even though it moved a bit slowly at times. Altogether a good cup of inspiration for anyone with the slightest interest in becoming a writer, in whatever field that may be. And even if you're not, you might just like it anyway. A solid 3½ stars from me :-) "You write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head."
Jason S

As a writer I enjoyed this movie. The main actors worked well together and the story was interesting.
Drew S

Mentor movies strike me as rather dull, frankly. Good Will Hunting made it work - this did not. Though it's been five years since I've seen this movie, nothing in it has stuck with me - it may seem like a long stretch of time, but there are many films that have left far more… More
Mentor movies strike me as rather dull, frankly. Good Will Hunting made it work - this did not. Though it's been five years since I've seen this movie, nothing in it has stuck with me - it may seem like a long stretch of time, but there are many films that have left far more of an impact that I'd seen just as long ago. To be brief, this offers very little originality.
Leigh R

Well done.
Jens S

Good Will Hunting meets Dead Poet's Society. Not very exciting, but likeable and entertaining.
Mike T

A conventional but charming inspirational drama competently directed by Gus Van Sant. I watched it for Michael Pitt's role, which is miniscule. Sean Connery is fantastic.
Nicolas K

A familiar story well told.
Chosen 7

Good film.
Eduardo C

With a plot structure as old as film itself, this could have turned out to be a saccharin, maudlin little tale the likes of which we've seen a hundred times. Oh wait, it did anyways. Still, it's direction is understated enough (courtesy of Mr. Van Sant) and he performances… More
With a plot structure as old as film itself, this could have turned out to be a saccharin, maudlin little tale the likes of which we've seen a hundred times. Oh wait, it did anyways. Still, it's direction is understated enough (courtesy of Mr. Van Sant) and he performances are strong enough (Sean Connery does what he always does, but newcomer Rob Brown is quite good, Anna Paquin always is and F. Murray Abraham makes for a wonderful villain) to make it work. I liked how observant the film is about the act of writing, and how reverent it is to the written word itself. It is also very cynical (rightly so, most likely) about the inner workings of elite prep schools. Yes, Jamal is very gifted (think Good Will Hunting, but in terms of writing as opposed to mathematics and physics) but it is his basketball skills that get him recruited. His skill in the classroom is an afterthought. After it is verified he meets the minimum standards, it is forgotten about until his ability eventually comes into question by a professor who simply cannot believe that a black basketball player from the Bronx could write so sublimely. Yes, the ending is trite and there are some cringe inducing moments ("PUNCH THE KEYS!") but there are enough subtleties and nuances to maintain this above the level of a purely commercial product. Fun fact: Connery's delivery of the line "You're the man now, dawg!" is what inspired the creation of the popular www.ytmnd.com website.
Anthony V

What the hell happened to Gus Van Sant?