Finding Forrester

"Jamal" (Rob Brown) has something of the "Will Hunting" to him, only without the chip on his shoulder. He's a clever lad from the Bronx but he has little opportunity to develop his education so tends to hang about the basketball court with his pals. They are all aware that from an adjacent building, someone is watching them. They call him the "window" and one night he decides to sneak up the fire escape and visit this enigmatic figure! He almost gets caught, but in flight he leaves behind his rucksack containing readily identifiable information. Rather than get a visit from the cops, though, he finds it thrown out of the very window a few days later - with all his schoolwork corrected! Curious, he attempts a more formal introduction with their observer and that's when he encounters "Forrester" (Sean Connery). It turns out that he once wrote a book, and a very successful book at that, but for reasons that might become clearer he has taken to the life of a recluse in his large apartment. It looks like he sees promise in this young man, but can he help him realise his full potential? Perhaps he even has a book in him, too? What's clear from his schooling is that his teacher "Crawford" (F. Murray Abraham) hasn't really much time for this pupil. It might just be a lethargic disdain for his own life - he was an author who didn't quite make the grade; or maybe his indifference is racially motivated? In any case, "Forrester" decides to act as a conduit to help "Jamal" prove his worth - or not - to himself and also to "Claire" (Anna Paquin) to whom he has taken a bit of a (reciprocated) shine, but who is most definitely from the other side of the tracks. There is a condition to the older men's help though. What goes on in the flat stays in the flat. That soon becomes more difficult for "Jamal" as the two men begin to bond on a much more personal level, and he even manages to coax the virtual hermit to a basketball game with him. With his schoolwork markedly improving, and hi...