Finding Forrester (2000)
82%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 5 wins & 13 nominations
Despite the predictability of its plot and its similarity to Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester has an honest, solid feel to it and good rapport between Connery and Brown
Finding Forrester is a heartwarming film that will make you want to pick up a pen and start writing your own novel. Critics may say it’s conventional, but who cares when you have Sean Connery as a reclusive writer and Rob Brown as a talented young student? The film is a perfect mix of book smarts and street smarts, and it’s refreshing to see a movie that celebrates the intellectual life. Plus, it’s always a good time when you can watch a movie and not have a house fall from the sky.
Production Company(ies)
Communicado Productions, New Zealand Film Commission Avalon, NFU
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
299 East 158th Street, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references
Year of Release
2001
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTSS DDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 12.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 13m
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Language(s):English, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 19, 2000 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, April Grace, directed by Gus Van Sant, written by Mike Rich, drama, PG-13, box office performance, $51.8M, reviewed by Nell Minow, Susan Stark, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kimberley Jones, Liam Lacey, Michael Thomson, Nick Rogers, Leigh Paatsch, John A Nesbit, Michael Dequina, produced by Laurence Mark, Dany Wolf, Columbia Pictures, Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, mentorship, basketball, writing, friendship, self-discovery, reclusive novelist, high school student, Bronx, literary shenanigans, unlikely friendship, coming of age, urban melodrama, Good Will Hunting, Sean Connery’s career-crowning performance, Rob Brown’s impressive screen debut, F Murray Abraham’s superb supporting performance, jealousy, professor, literary genius, Scottish accent
Worldwide gross: $80,049,764
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $134,906,942
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 885
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 14,711,771
US/Canada gross: $51,804,714
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $87,305,886
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 817
US/Canada opening weekend: $701,207
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,181,736
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,258
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $43,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $72,467,403
Production budget ranking: 582
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $39,023,697
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $23,415,843
ROI to date (est.): 21%
ROI ranking: 1,290
Rob Brown – Jamal
F. Murray Abraham – Crawford
Anna Paquin – Claire
Busta Rhymes – Terrell
April Grace – Ms. Joyce
Director(s)
Gus Van Sant
Writer(s)
Mike Rich
Producer(s)
Laurence Mark, Dany Wolf
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 wins & 13 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (129) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (96) | Rotten (33)
Quality characters, solid film; OK for ages 14+.
December 24, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
October 18, 2008 | Rating: 4/4
Susan Stark
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
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.
March 25, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A nice-looking, nice-feeling exercise in conventionalism that sure could use a couple of transvestites and maybe a house falling from the sky.
March 10, 2003 | Rating: 3/5
Kimberley Jones
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
An anti-intellectual film about the intellectual life.
March 19, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
An intelligent, subtle, in short remarkable take on growing up, being true to yourself and fighting the odds.
April 16, 2001 | Rating: 4/5
Michael Thomson
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Is Gus Van Sant embarrassed by this film? It’s been a reasonable question ever since its first frame flickered on the screen, although it would be an unwarranted response for an imperfect but invigorating inversion of the comforting beats you expect.
December 31, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Nick Rogers
Midwest Film Journal
A nicely inspirational affair.
May 11, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
predictable formula film that is quickly forgotten
July 22, 2012 | Rating: C
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
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.
September 24, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
Brown, in his acting debut, displays the balance of book smarts, street smarts, and vulnerability that is crucial to the part.
February 15, 2010 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
Doesn’t fully live up to all the expectations but is still enjoyable.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed…
Plot
Because of scoring exceptionally high on a statewide standardized exam, and being an exceptionally good basketball player, Jamal Wallace is sent to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan. He soon befriends the reclusive writer, William Forrester.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sean Connery delivers a “career-crowning performance” in Finding Forrester, according to Fresh Kernels.
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