Change Your Image
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Reviews
The Nephew (1998)
Gorgeously filmed, intelligently written.
I found myself watching The Nephew, and showing it to three relatives and a friend. I enjoyed several things about the movie, not the least being the lingering look at the beautiful, rocky Irish landscape and the well-framed scenes. I enjoyed the point of the movie, namely that race may divide us but sometimes not so deeply as family feuds. Fast-rising star Hill Harper was a joy to watch. He was convincing as "the nephew," a black youth who genuinely found his place in super-white Irish culture. "I am Irish," he said with conviction, and showed it in his street-smart way with elan, and sensitivity. His rendition of an ancient Irish song in the wake scene was arresting, and moving. A smartly-done piece of work that slyly bolsters the case: We are, really, the family of man. Kudos to Pierce Brosnan and others who made this project go. My one surprise is that it evidently was not distributed widely in the United States, and is not available as a video tape. I saw it on Cinemax.
Finding Forrester (2000)
A warm tale about discovery
I found Finding Forrester to be a warm tale about two men finding one another, and in a place where neither expected to do so. Each was made more complete by his new experience, and I was inspired by the screenplay's discarding of stereotypes about young black men. Sean Connery was masterful and completely in control of his material, as usual. But Rob Brown was for me a delightful discovery, showing such poise, such a strong, quiet center in his role as Jamal.
I was struck by the great division of opinion among critics, and for many an astonishing inability to grapple with the idea of a young black man being intellectually brilliant.
I saw the film, and then saw it again with my son. It was inspirational.