Finding Forrester

Gus Van Sant, onetime guardian of the quirky avant-garde (To Die For, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues), takes on an After School Special-type script about a ghetto littérateur savant (newcomer Rob Brown) and his reclusive white mentor (Sean Connery), in this solidly enjoyable, fairly cerebral feature raised above its hackneyed roots by stout performances from the two leads. A respectable plot revolves around these characters bonding during after-school writing sessions in the dusty apartment of the once-revered writer Connery. Conflicts arise when Brown is accused of plagiarism by a snooty school teacher (F. Murray Abraham) who recognizes the influence of Connery--an old rival--in his student's writing. But the kid swore an oath of secrecy to his tutor, and puts his school career in jeopardy to honor it. While there's nothing extraordinary here, other than the fact that the film attracted the kind of talent that could lift it above its banal origins, it's certainly a satisfying watch. A strong, optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)