One of the most iconic movies of the 1990s is undoubtedly “Forrest Gump”, directed by Robert Zemeckis. While the critical reception was only fair, audiences were captivated by the film's poignant themes of love, disability, and the unpredictability of life. The film went on to win multiple awards, including Best Picture at the 1995 Academy Awards. As the years have passed, many critics and viewers have revisited the movie with a more critical and even political perspective. Regardless of current opinions about the film, I believe that this 1994 classic remains an emotional powerhouse. It addresses themes that were not widely recognized during the 90’s but are highly relevant to today’s culture and worth discussing.
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is a man with a low IQ waiting at the bus stop to meet with someone. While waiting, Forrest recounts his life story to unwilling strangers about his life story. Forrest recounts how his mother (Sally Field) raised her, how she met the most beautiful woman named Jenny (Robin Wright), and would later go on to recount other stories such as being in a ping pong tournament, serving in the army, and running a shrimping business with Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise).
The Story is long, but it never loses its core message. Forest encounters many opportunities and meets interesting people, leading to intriguing results. Most of the movie is told from flashbacks of Forrest’s adventures as a person with a low IQ as his life jumps from one experience to the next, and each experience is tailor-made for the audience to experience these life events through Forrest’s unique perspective. The movie also throws in a lovely romance between Jenny and Forrest that feels more believable and soulful than most traditional romances from your average film. The time periods in Forrest's story keep shifting from one point of time to the other, but it does so without feeling like the whole movie is being rushed. The only thing that I can see that would throw people off is some of the more uncomfortable scenes when Forrest is involved with sexual tendencies or other uncomfortable romantic scenarios. Despite its flaws, this story is filled with heart and sincerity, making the intended core messages resonate with moviegoers. The film succeeds not only because of these messages but also because of its genuine spirit.
The Characters make the film feel much more alive, but Forrest Gump himself is the character worth all the praise. Tom Hanks does an expert job of playing a character with a disabillity. Hanks expertly balances Forrest’s character as he is naive and easygoing but never delves into making Forrest a complete idiot or unreasonable as many other bad portrayals of disabled characters often do. As someone who is autistic himself, I feel this is one of the better portrayals of someone with a disability. It's honestly very encouraging to see someone who may have a more severe disability than me being able to do things that many normal folk might have deemed impossible for a character like forrest to accomplish such as being a football player, serving in the army, being a ping pong champion or even being a successful shrimp boat captain. Aside from Tom Hanks, Sally Field does a superb job playing Forrest’s mother. She’s the kind of mother that almost anyone with a disability should have. She’s firm but supportive and believes that Forrest should have the same rights and opportunities that every man should have, regardless of IQ. Robin Wright plays Forrest’s true love, Jenny. While a lot of moviegoers deem her toxic and a bad girlfriend, it does help to know that she came from a bad childhood and home life. Some decisions she makes in the movie can be seen as selfish, but looking closer, it's understandable that she only does what she does mainly to escape her bad life as a child instead of accepting it and moving on. Some other memorable characters are Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, and Mykelti Williamson as Bubba, who each make impacts with Forrest later in the film. These dynamic personas help to make the world of Forrest Gump feel alive and deeper than thought possible.
The Cinematography holds up extraordinarily well by combining traditional camera work and some special effects that arguably feel timeless. Since the film mostly takes place in the South, many locations in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina were chosen to represent the Southern homeland where Forrest was born and raised. The iconic scene where Forrest waits for the bus was shot in Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia. The film goes all over America and beyond, as many of the army scenes take place in Vietnam, and there are a few beautiful shots of the open ocean shown from Gump’s shrimping boat. The real deal of the film's visuals would be its subtle use of CGI and special effects. These effects are used sparingly so it does not distract the audience but are noticeable enough for the audience to marvel at. Some of the best examples include the opening scene with the feather floating downward to Forrest or the effect of making it look like Lieutenant Dan’s legs have been amputated which still looks convincing today. It’s interesting to note the lengths the filmmakers went to create visuals, such as when Forrest meets President John F. Kennedy and shakes his hand. The filmmakers could have hired an actor to portray Kennedy, which would have been cheaper. However, using chroma key technology and some editing tweaks, they made it feel like JFK was actually present with Forrest in that scene. This dedication to authenticity in the special effects really impresses me. Many other movies of the time would most likely go hog-wild with how much CGI and special effects they can use to impress the audience, but I, for one, appreciate how little effects Forrest Gump used so it can focus on the emotion and rawness of the setting without letting CGI do all the work.
The Music was composed by Alan Silvestri. Silvestri is most well known for composing the music for movies such as Cast Away, Lilo and Stitch, and created the main theme for the MCU Avengers movies. The film's main piano theme is beautifully crafted and is a great way to open and close out the movie. The rest of the music features copyrighted songs from different decades. According to music producer Joel Sill, "We wanted to have very recognizable material that would pinpoint time periods, yet we didn't want to interfere with what was happening cinematically." Whether it features beautiful compositions or copyrighted melodies, the music performs to the best of its ability.
Forrest Gump highlights the disability community's capabilities, showing they can achieve what "normal" neurotypical individuals can do, and perhaps even do it better. On top of that, the stories main themes and morals are filled with enlightening insights and the romantic subplot ties everything together with a neat bow.The characters are well-developed and even memorable. The cinematography is striking, and the special effects are so good that they are barely even visible. The music is lovely and helps engrave the emotions of the storylines with ease. In the world of movies, many portrayals of individuals with disabilities are often superficial or even offensive. However, "Forrest Gump" stands out as a shining example of how a skilled team of filmmakers, along with a talented actor, can successfully capture the complexity and depth of such characters—something that many similar films fail to achieve.
(Final Grade: A-)