Finding Forrester
* Summary
* What Forrester has in common with Salinger
Summary
Finding Forrester was directed by Gus Van Sant and stars Sean Connery (William Forrester), Anna Paquin (Claire Spence), Rob Brown (Jamal Wallace).
Jamal Wallace is living in the Bronx in New York, and is really good at basketball and even more at writing. He moves to a new school and also meets one of the best writer of all times, William Forrester.
Jamal Wallace plays basketball on the courts with his friends, and they are aware that an old man (Forrester) is watching them from his window. On a bet, Jamal breaks into the man's apartment, but forgets his bag. When he goes back to get it, Jamal and Forrester get to know each other, reluctantly at first, and then they become friends. Jamal finds out that Forrester is a very famous writer and Forrester finds out that Jamal has a gift for writing (besides basketball).
After scoring very high in a standardized test, Jamal moves to a new school where he meets a very nice girl called Claire. The school is interested in Jamal's basketball abilities whereas Jamal wants to go there to learn to write better. Jamal works his writing with Forrester. He has promised not tell anyone about his life in New York. Yet, after working with a text by Forrester, Jamal is accused of plagiarism.
What Forrester has in common with Salinger
*
Forrester has written only one novel in his life, 'Avalon Landing', and it was a huge sucess among the public as well as the critics.
Salinger has written 'The Catcher In The Rye', which was a great success just as Forrester's book. It is the only novel he has written, but not the only text he has published. Forrester has also published articles in different magazines.
*
Salinger's "Catcher In The Rye" deals with the story of Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy who has a nervous breakdown. Teenagers identify with Holden quite easily. 'The Catcher In The Rye' is often studied in schools.
*
Forrester refuses to talk to anyone, especially about his book.
Salinger refuses to give any interviews.
*
Forrester is one of the best writer ever, and is still alive.
It is exactly the same for Salinger.
*
Wiliam Forrester is an old man (and dies at the end of the movie).
Salinger is now 82, so it is likely that he is closer to his death than his birth.
*
Forrester's novel, 'Avalon Landing', was published in the early fifties.
'The Catcher In The Rye' was published in 1951.
*
Forrester has published for The New Yorker magazine. (Jamal is accused of plagiarism of a text published in The New Yorker)
Salinger has worked for the same magazine between 1948 and 1965.
