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Forrest Gump movie review and analysis in film criticism course forum for advanced ESL students at LELB Society. Join our students and members to analyze and review great English movies every week.
Forrest Gump movie review
I’ve never met anyone like Forrest Gump in a movie before, and for that matter I’ve never seen a movie quite like “Forrest Gump.” Any attempt to describe him will risk making the movie seem more conventional than it is, but let me try. It’s a comedy, I guess. Or maybe a drama. Or a dream.
The screenplay by Eric Roth has the complexity of modern fiction, not the formulas of modern movies. Its hero, played by Tom Hanks, is a thoroughly decent man with an IQ of 75, who manages between the 1950s and the 1980s to become involved in every major event in American history. And he survives them all with only honesty and niceness as his shields.
Source: https://www.rogerebert.com/
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Forrest Gump movie analysis
The key theme in “Forrest Gump” is life and not to give up on it; it is about managing the obstacles on one’s path. Forrest faces all these challenges, but he pulls himself through them. It is like the phrase his mother told him: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get”. Forrest handled things, as they came. Another theme is accepting yourself for who you are, and for what you do. The phrase: “Stupid is as stupid does” is important here. It means that you are as stupid as the things you do. Forrest Gump was not really stupid in this case. He was mentally dumb, but he didn’t do stupid things (maybe some, but who doesn’t?).
Source: https://www.daria.no/
Tom Hanks’ role in Forrest Gump is so influential and positive that it has affected his following films as well, such as Cast Away. While watching Cast Away, I was not sure whether he was Chuck or Forrest Gump. I should admit that the beginning of the film was somewhat boring to me. Therefore, the first time I watched it, I thought I would be bored with that. Nevertheless, my expectations did not come true, and I began to like it more and more.
Forrest Gump is a man with low IQ but high EQ, optimism, and determination. He was mistreated by society and the people around him, but he did not take any offense. He literally made the impossible possible by becoming a successful entrepreneur, a romantic beau and husband with authentic and real emotions, and a caring father. I was shocked when I listened to his first reaction to becoming a father as being concerned about his son’s IQ.
He was the only survivor of the hardships of life in comparison to his colleagues and bosses simply because he had a winning mindset. Running for a person with physical disabilities like Forrest Gump is like playing a musical instrument for a person with hearing loss like Beethoven, and this is a perfect example of determination and resolution. Running in this movie is a symbol of taking action and moving forward, and sometimes without so much overthinking. From this point of view, I can compare Forrest Gump with the 2 active mice in Who Moved My Cheese?
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