Director Gus Van Sant follows his pointless Psycho remake with this earnest feel-good drama echoing his own Good Will Hunting.

In Finding Forrester, Rob Brown plays Jamal Wallace, a Bronx high school student who has nothing more than aspirations of becoming a pro basketball player. Unbeknownst to the people around him, it seems that the young man also has an extraordinary gift for writing. Following high test scores, Wallace is courted by a prestigious private school. Help comes in the form of the reclusive Sean Connery as William Forrester, an abrasive writer who is somewhat a legend in the literary world. It seems that Forrester once wrote a well received novel and then virtually disappeared without a trace. He passes his time as a sort of hermit in an old apartment building. Before too long, Wallace and Forrester form a strong bond.

Finding Forrester has many strengths. I love the film's take on the love for writing. Forrester acts as if the artform of writing gives him a kind of orgasmic pleasure. Much of this film is very insightful in it's deft depiction of the world of literature.

Taking the film to the highest level are the performances. This is perhaps the strongest work of Connery's career. He brings a crotchety yet sympathetic attitude to Forrester. Newcomer Rob Brown is equally effective as the naturally talented Wallace. The two have a wonderful rapport and really make this picture work.

Finding Forrester is reminiscent of many films including Scent of A Woman, Searching For Bobby Fisher, The Karate Kid, and even this year's Wonder Boys. There is even a sort of Boo Radley quality to the character of Forrester. As stated earlier, there will also be undeniable comparisons to Good Will Hunting. In the big picture, however, this story is much different.

Finding Forrester only falters when it piles things to thick. Forrester's revelation on the baseball field is a bit much, and I found F. Murray Abraham's Professor Crawford to be overly callous. It also bothered me that the wonderfully talented Anna Paquin serves as a mere ornament in this picture. She and Brown build a terrific chemistry but Van Sant and his writers never really take the relationship anywhere.

These things aside, it's very hard to resist this picture. It's a well intentioned film that is usually quite effective and Connery and Brown really add an emotional charge that lifts Finding Forrester to another level.

Finding Forrester finds Gus Van Sant in familiar, Good Will Hunting territory. This is a story about genius and the true, uncompromising power of friendship. It's also a picture about following your dream and not letting anyone hold you back. Finding Forrester is a terrific film.