An intelligent, subtle, in short remarkable take on growing up, being true to yourself and fighting the odds, this is also an unusual, touching tale of friendship between Jamal (Rob Brown), a black teenager from the Bronx, and William Forrester (Sean Connery), his gruff, reclusive neighbour.
Also about notions of masculinity and identity, it specifically concerns a talented basketball star in the making - who talks street-jive with his chums but has a writer's sensibility - and a Pulitzer prize-winner who has drawn his blinds on life for years.
Such a hermit has he become, that he corrects the youngster's first writing and shoves it under the door for him to collect before they have even met. One of the film's many deft touches, it also indicates in a second the initial yawning chasm between the two men.
"Finding Forrester" is in essence a character-driven piece where bad, or just indifferent acting, would be readily exposed. But Connery, as expected, has no problem being crotchety and authoritarian, yet kindly: in other words, complexity suits him very well. Much more astonishing is that it also suits complete newcomer Rob Brown, who had no acting experience of any kind and who had just turned sixteen before the shoot. Whether he is communicating his deep yearning to write, his need for family or his nervous persistence in pursuing Forrester, he never once fails. And for his part, director Gus Van Sant sees no need to revive his previous flashiness, since he is mature enough to let two gifted actors carry the creative weight.