Jamal (Rob Brown) is a smart 16-year-old kid from the Bronx, who is constantly reading books and writing in his notebooks when he’s not playing basketball with his friends. However, in school he does just enough to get by and not stand out, maintaining a C average. The place where Jamal does stand out is on the basketball court, both at school and in the park with his friends. And overlooking that park is an apartment where a reclusive stranger lives—the boys refer to him as “The Window” as he is always looking out his window with binoculars at the people below. The boys have a whole bunch of tall tales and legends about the man, including a list of people who saw him and then were never heard from again.

One day Jamal’s friends dare him to go into the apartment and steal something, but his thieving skills do not equal his basketball skills, and Jamal’s attempt does not go unnoticed. The owner of the apartment is ornery, reclusive bestselling author William Forrester (Sean Connery), who managed to write the great 20th century novel on his first and only try, and then seemed to just disappear. Forrester reads some of Jamal’s work from the bag he left behind during his bungled robbery, and he recognizes Jamal’s talent. The two end up striking up an unlikely friendship, and Forrester agrees to help Jamal with his writing as long as he keeps his identity a secret. Meanwhile, Jamal’s standardized test scores come back, and a Manhattan prep school offers him a full scholarship, impressed by his scoring both on the test and on the basketball court. Jamal quickly makes friends with fellow classmate Claire (Anna Paquin), who helps show him the ropes. However, he also makes a bad first impression with his teacher, Professor Crawford (F. Murray Abraham), who is suspicious of the rapid change in the quality of Jamal’s work from his old school.

Finding Forrester is an engaging and heartwarming tale of the unlikely friendship between two very different people, both needing the other without even realizing it. Jamal is this aspiring and talented young writer from a poor neighborhood who is in need of a mentor and someone to encourage him. Jamal’s father was an addict, and his leaving is what originally inspired Jamal to write. Jamal wants a better life and someone who will be there for him like his father never was. His brother Terrell (Busta Rhymes) has never really been that ambitious, happy being a supervisor in a parking garage and working on his raps. Forrester is the first person who has genuinely taken an interest in helping Jamal. Meanwhile, Forrester has been locked away in his apartment for nearly 50 years, watching the neighborhood change around him. He continues to write, but keeps everything locked away where no one else can read it. Jamal starts to become the family that Forrester never had, and helps him to start to open up about himself and his past, and start living his life instead of just watching others live theirs through his window. Through their friendship, Jamal and Forrester help to save one another.

Finding Forrester was the acting debut for Rob Brown, however you never would have known it. He easily holds his own in scenes with greats like Sean Connery and F. Murray Abraham. Jamal is a likeable and honest character that the audience can get behind and root for. There’s not a hateful bone in his body. Connery is also great as this initially gruff loner who starts to open up when he sees a talented young man he can pass his knowledge onto. Forrester likes to test Jamal, and this is where the playful side of Connery comes out. The film takes the viewer on an emotional journey through the ups and downs of this friendship. Director Gus Van Sant had proven he knew how to tell this type of story with Good Will Hunting, which had a similar mentor relationship, and he does an excellent job here. And Mike Rich may have started his screenwriting career with this film, but proved he could tell an excellent heartwarming tale, going on to write similar toned films with a sports slant such as The Rookie, Radio and Secretariat.

Finding Forrester had previously been released on Blu-ray by Sony in 2017 as part of it’s MOD Choice Collection, and also received a UK release by Eureka Entertainment. The picture quality of Mill Creek’s latest release is excellent, with a clean, detailed picture that showcases the film’s more muted palette. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and while it’s not incredibly noticeable, does utilize the surround channel to add some ambiance to the exterior and basketball scenes, and opens up the film’s jazzy score. Nearly all of the bonus material that was on the previous UK release has been ported over to this release, including a deleted scene and about 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes. Not ported over are an additional deleted scene, the film’s trailer, and an isolated music and effects audio track. The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase, without a slipcover or digital copy.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:16:12)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:
All bonus material is ported from the previous release and presented in 4:3 format.

• Deleted Scene (3:16)
  The school choir sings Mozart’s Lacrimosa. Not sure where this is supposed to fit into the film. The UK Blu-ray release also included a second scene with the choir singing “Lean on Me”, but this was likely left off due to licensing reasons.
• HBO Making Of… Finding Forrester (15:02)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss what it was like making of the film. They talk about the premise of the movie, the challenges of casting Jamal, working with director Gus Van Sant, the themes of family in the film, and more. Includes behind the scenes footages and interviews with director Gus Van Sant, screenwriter Mike Rich, producers Laurence Mark & Rhonda Tollefson, executive producers Dany Wolf & Jonathan King, and stars Sean Connery (“Forrester”), Rob Brown (“Jamal”), F. Murray Abraham (“Professor Crawford”), Anna Paquin (“Claire”) & Busta Rhymes (“Terrell”).
• Found: Rob Brown (11:57)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss the extensive process of casting the role of Jamal, rehearsing the basketball scenes, working with Busta Rhymes, F. Murray Abraham & Sean Connery, and more. Includes behind the scenes footage, the cast rapping between takes, and interviews with director Gus Van Sant, producers Laurence Mark & Rhonda Tollefson, executive producer Dany Wolf, and stars Rob Brown, Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham & Anna Paquin.

Final Thoughts:

Finding Forrester is an entertaining and heartwarming film that feels as fresh and relevant as ever, holding up quite well 20 years later. It features some excellent performances by (then) newcomer Rob Brown, Sean Connery and F. Murray Abraham and fun guest appearance by Busta Rhymes. Mill Creek’s release looks and sounds great, and is priced a lot better than the previous MOD release from Sony. Plus, it ports over a lot of the previously-available bonus material. This is an easy recommendation to anyone who is looking for an inspirational and uplifting drama about family and unlikely friendships.