Finding Forrester – Film Analysis
Finding Forrester, written by Mike Rich, was a story about a black, American teenager that grow up in the Bronx where he had an inner passion to write; however, he showed the world that he was an ordinary basketball player to get accepted by the people close to him. Jamal Wallace, the lead character, practiced day and night to perfect his basketball skills but also better his writing with the help of William Forrester, who had given up on writing many years ago. The two gradually become very good friends, and help each other through the hardships and tensions of life. After reading the book, and studying the movie in quite detail, I have discovered that even thought the film and novel have many similarities, the film still misses a lot of details and incidents present in the novel.
Firstly, in the book and the film, the two characters, Jamal and Forrester, are exactly how they are described in the novel. Jamal is a talented, yet very smart young adult who he is trying to fight the world and is still trying to look for the pathway that life will take him. On the other hand, Forrester is a very talented writer, who had given up on his dreams many years ago. Jamal, because of his secret writings, got accepted to the finest high school in his state, where he betters his game and school work. Forrester lives in a lonesome apartment, which was invaded by Jamal because of a bet he had with his friends; gradually, the two become life- long companions.
Despite the plot line and the character being the same in the film and the novel, their many incidents in the novel that was cut from film to make it more interesting so it can attract a larger audience. Some parts cut from the novel: when Claire finds out about the plagiarism and the make-out scene between Jamal and Claire. Also, everything in the film was told in much less detail in the film rather than the film. Even though we see that Jamal has a real passion for books and writing, we do not get to explore that passion in much detail; furthermore, many other characters such as Fly, Crawford, and Claire were not explored with much detail and insight information. We just learned a little bit about their life and background in a couple of scenes.
After doing a thorough investigation of the Finding Forrester, I have reached a consensus that even though a novel and a film are almost identical, there still lie many differences. Whether you are studying a piece for school, writing about it in a newspaper, or even learning about a novel for fun, make sure you study both forms of work present: book and film. Many students in our generation question other people, “why read the book when you can watch the movie;” however, if you do that, then you will be missing out on great amount of detail and I have proved that in the following film analysis.
Finding Forrester – Review
Times Square Magazine
I am walking down to the river in my white sweatpants and a grey oversize pullover, with my long, straight, black hair blowing in my face. I am sitting watching the sun rise higher into the sky; the sky that is baby blue, with clouds still sleeping, covering the sun but leaving gaps for it to shine its orange rays and make its reflection. The air is cold as if it were winter season, though it is only the beginning of fall. I get up and start walking down the river. I hear soft sounds so I turn, it was just a rabbit. I continue walking through the shaved grass, listening to the birds waking up their little ones, leaves rustling and the wind still blowing its cold air, but slowly. I find a comfortable spot and sit. Peace is what I feel and calm is how my body feels. I hear footsteps but I don’t turn because they sound familiar. He holds my shoulders and sits beside me with his arm still around my shoulder. Its quiet so all you can hear is the rapid, soft flow of the river but the harmonious sound of the water when it hits the banks. We talk and laugh, and blend our voices with the voices of nature. I don’t want this to end. I get up and tie my hair into a loose ponytail, then walk over to the banks and dip my feet into the freezing cold water, almost numbing my toes. I close my eyes and picture me floating away in the river. Chills run up my spine. All together in unison, the birds stop chirping and the rabbits disappeared. The wind stopped blowing but it needlessly got colder. I took that as an indication or warning, as if to say that there is something bad with the water, yet it felt too good.