Finding Forrester (PG-13, 2000)

In the inner city, a mysterious man nicknamed "The Window" (Connery) is never seen leaving his apartment. Local teen Jamal (Rob Brown) accepts a dare to enter the man's apartment. The man surprises him, and he races out, leaving his backpack behind. The next day, the backpack is thrown out the window, and Jamal finds extensive comments in his private journals. He returns to "The Window" to ask for more comments, and, slowly, a friendship begins. It turns out that the man is William Forrester, recluse author of one of the century's greatest books who has not published a book since his first won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize. Jamal's test scores earn him a full scholarship at a posh private school, but they want more from him on the basketball court than in the classroom. Some of his new classmates are friendly, especially Claire (Anna Paquin). But teacher Mr. Crawford (F. Murray Abraham) is suspicious and accuses Jamal of plagiarism. The only one who can defend him is a man who has not left his apartment in decades.

There's nothing more appealing to watch in a movie than one character teaching another, except perhaps when two characters teach each other. This reliable formula is well-presented in this fine film about two great writers at different stages of their careers. Newcomer Rob Brown is as impressive as the Oscar-winning trio of Connery, Paquin, and Abraham. Some of the best scenes are those in which Jamal unleashes his hidden smarts to skewer those who dared to have preconceptions about him. There are also scenes of real loyalty and connection between Jamal and Forrester, and between Jamal and his brother (Busta Rhymes in his best performance yet) and between Jamal and Claire.

The movie's primary weakness is its climax confrontation, which is artificially constructed and unrealistic. Forrester's explanation of his decision to withdraw from the world and his decision to change is weakly handled. Jamal may be just a little too perfect. And a brief in-joke appearance by a big star is distracting.

Studio: Columbia Tristar
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast: F. Murray Abraham, Rob Brown, Sean Connery
Genre: Drama
Run time: 133 minutes
Theatrical release: December 22, 2000
DVD release: April 24, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: language and sexual references