FINDING FORRESTER

Sean Connery plays a Pulitzer prize-winning author in FINDING FORRESTER, a story about an esteemed author who comes out of seclusion to mentor an aspiring high school student from the Bronx.

Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is a 16-year-old star basketball player with a secret. He is an aspiring writer. He fools his peers with a “C” average, hiding his gift, so as not to be treated differently by his friends. He lives in the Bronx with his mother and brother, who despite the departure of a husband and father provide strong, loving support for Jamal.

One afternoon, while Jamal and some friends are shooting hoops in the neighborhood, they begin talking about “the window,” referring to the top floor of a nearby apartment building. Inside that top room, as many circulating stories claim, lives a man, a possible murderer, in hiding. As their discussion builds, they see a man in a BMW pull up, exit his car and enter the building with a box of groceries and supplies. This provokes further conversation, and before long, Jamal is being dared to not only sneak inside the apartment, but bring something back with him.

That evening, Jamal’s friends wait anxiously at the bottom of the building as Jamal sneaks inside. He finds a knife and puts it into his backpack as proof of his entrance. He is about to leave when he sees a glorious amount of books and cannot help but spend a few moments looking over them. Suddenly, the apartment’s occupant startles him, and, in his flight, Jamal leaves his backpack.

The next day Jamal and his friends are out on the basketball court again when they see Jamal’s backpack hanging from the window, then thrown down to him. He discovers that all of his journals have been edited and later that the apartment’s occupant is none other than a Pulitzer-prize winning author. From there a relationship forms built on trust and respect, and together they learn great things from each other, most importantly, friendship.

FINDING FORRESTER is a sometimes dramatic, sometimes hilarious movie that takes the audience to an uplifting end without being sickeningly sweet. Connery plays his part as an author in seclusion rather well, and newcomer Rob Brown does an acceptable job as Jamal. Racial differences are evident, but the reality of dealing with them is avoided. However, though there are a few corny moments, the story is refreshing compared to other movies currently in the theaters.

This movie’s lessons on friendship, honor and trust are marred, however, by excessive foul language that is not only unnecessary, but that also takes away from the acting and story. It is unfortunate that such a gem of a movie has been roughened up by more than 40 obscenities and profanities.