07/14/10 - Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump (1994, 142 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/

I'd been wanting to watch Forrest Gump again for some time now. It's a pretty cheesy movie when you really think about it but I find it hard not to love it immensely. It's perfect in a lot of ways but I hadn't watched it in around two years so I wanted to see how it compared to some of my new favorites.

The film follows the "simple" Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) as he grows up. The guy lives a picaresque lifestyle as he seems to be at every significant event in American history and meet just about every president since Kennedy. All along though, his life revolves around "his girl" Jenny Curran (Robin Wright). Playing significant roles in his life are: his mother Mrs. Gump (Sally Field), his commanding officer Lt. Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise), and his friend from Vietnam Pvt. Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue (Mykelti Williamson).

The great thing about Forrest Gump is how it tells the story. It's just this absolutely perfect blend of realism and surrealism that creates an atmosphere I find it hard not to just love. It's also great in how it sets up everything: it's all just disconnected stories. If this was chosen because it matches up with the "simple" mind of Forrest, then that's fine, but whatever the reason, I really enjoy telling a story this way. Many things aren't related and are just thrown in there but it all serves to make Forrest a really lovable character. It's hard not to root for him every step of the way as he has such a heart of gold and always seems to do the right thing. Another big factor in this is Hanks in the title role. I believe that when we look back on Hanks's career in about thirty years we'll remember him for this and Saving Private Ryan (at least as of 2010, he'll probably do another monumental performance down the road). Hanks makes Forrest believable but also human. Tropic Thunder jokes around on the issue of going "full retard" and compares Forrest Gump to I Am Sam. While this is really a joke, it does have quite a bit of merit to it. Well, I haven't seen I Am Sam but I can say that it's hard to believe that Forrest is so stupid when he can accomplish so much. But I called Forrest believable above not for this reason but because he's so human as a character. He has flaws and people exploit them; he has a goal in life that he follows as much as he can; he loves his mother and returns to her after his globetrotting experiences as a ping pong player; and he responds to Jenny's letter to visit her with nervousness. These are basic human qualities that the film could've bumbled up but they didn't. Sure, Forrest sometimes does outlandish things (running for three years or whatever) but it's a larger than life story in some regards and not in others. Perhaps I'm giving the film too much benefit and I should criticize these flaws more but I actually think it all works so well together to make the film that much more likable.

I have always maintained that the difference between a great film and an amazing one is the score and soundtrack. The soundtrack here is incredibly memorable. It includes tons of timely music as Forrest lives the various decades. Stuff from Hendrix to The Doors to The Youngbloods all are played perfectly to the scenes. It's not quite up there with the best of the best soundtracks but it's pretty close.

There's two specific scenes I want to talk about in Forrest Gump. The first is when Forrest is with Lt. Dan for New Year's Eve. After Forrest is ridiculed by the prostitutes, Lt. Dan snaps and throws them out. This does two great things: it establishes a huge character trait of Lt. Dan that makes him my favorite character in the film (I'm not a huge fan of his fiancée Susan being Asian since I think that goes against his character, but whatever), and it serves as a way to highlight the special effects used in making Lt. Dan have no legs. First, the character development is significant because it's at this point that Lt. Dan turns into a good character as opposed to the angry and bitter individual he has been since the battle. It's also I think the first time anyone but Jenny has really stood up for Forrest and that's pretty meaningful. The special effects thing isn't as major but it's just really cool how they use simple angles to make it look like he has no legs. The camera moves around and everything so it's not just a stationary shot but seems more complicated than that. The other scene I want to single out is when Forrest is back at his house. There, he has a vision of Jenny walking right up to his house. This is awesome because it highlights the magical quality that permeates throughout the whole film. For a second, the viewer believes this is really happening. Then they realize it's not but that, by the nature of the film, it could. I really like how the whole film up to this point actually makes this scene better. But then, the film goes and does just this: it has Jenny walk right up to Forrest's house. And in this simple thing, the entire magic of her arrival is lost. They just showed this and worked on a great level being unbelievable yet real as well. But when you actually make it real it loses that magical quality it did have. In my opinion, having Jenny simply arrive in a taxi or something would be much better as it doesn't violate this previous dream of Forrest's. Maybe this is just me.

It's also worth taking a paragraph to comment on the ending of Forrest Gump. When Jenny calls Forrest back to her we have the most moving scene in the entire movie. As Forrest asks her if little Forrest Gump Jr. is "like him" it's great for two reasons: first is the acting as Hanks delivers this line perfectly; and second is the emotional weight that the line carries. There's a short pause before Jenny answers where a first time viewer's heart probably skips a beat as they wait anxiously. The scene is really well done. However, I've read questions on Jenny's intentions. Does she ever love Forrest or not? Does she call him back just so she can throw her (and his) child on him so that she can die peacefully? Or does she call him back so that she can see him again before she dies and because she knows he'll raise the kid well? I agree with one online comment that said that this fundamental belief that can shape the whole interpretation of Forrest Gump depends on how cynical you are as a person: if you're a dark and bitter person you'll hate Jenny and believe she did this with her own self in mind and the exact opposite if you're not so cynical. I think there's merit in interpreting it the first way but I maintain that she truly does love Forrest (in her own way, but definitely not the standard definition of "love" for neither a couple nor for friends). I think there's subtle body language used and some key word choices in her dialogue when she visits Forrest at his house that leads me to this belief. It's not much but I think it gives me the evidence I need to accept that she's not such a cruel person.

One thing that hurts the film in my opinion is that there is no driving goal. For as much time as I spent writing about the issue in the above paragraph, really I feel the whole movie goes south once Forrest and Jenny reunite at her house. First, there's not really a main issue or goal for the whole movie until this point. It's not until Forrest explains that he got the letter that a goal is really introduced into the film. Up until then it's basically just been Forrest telling his life to anyone that would listen at the bench. So now Forrest goes and sees Jenny and everything is happy for a bit as we see him with Forrest Gump Jr. But then the movie just sort of ends. There's nothing we care about anymore. Little Forrest is going to go off to school and Forrest is handling the chores of being a millionaire and Jenny is buried and the movie is just finished. But it just sort of lingers in this state for some time. There's the marriage of Forrest and Jenny which is kind of cool but it doesn't really mean much and similarly for the other scenes in this part of the movie. It made me realize that Forrest Gump isn't as perfect as I was remembering it: there's no real goal to the movie and when a conclusion is finally reached the film just sort of lingers there too long as the film doesn't know what to do.

Overall, I gave this film a 9/10. Forrest Gump creates one of the most memorable film characters of the past twenty years and also one of the most unique and lovable stories. It has an interesting point that can provide debate and lead to various interpretations. It has a great soundtrack. Forrest Gump just lacks that extra "it" factor that can push it up to a 10/10. Not having a goal really hurt it on my second viewing.