Forrest Gump (1994)
Over the past three decades, Forrest Gump has become a polarizing film. People either love it or hate it. I’m in the “love it” camp and can’t seem to embrace the arguments I’ve heard against it. Listening to their reasons reveals more about the critic than the film itself, which was a smash hit back in 1994. Adjusted for inflation, it ranks #26 on the list of the highest-grossing films in history, and Tom Hanks picked up his second Best Actor Oscar in a row, having won the previous year for Philadelphia.
Forrest Gump isn’t easy to categorize, which might contribute to the allergic reaction from some. It’s part anecdotal comedy, part dramatic romance, part political satire, and part poetic allegory. It is also clear from the start, or at least it was to me, that this film isn’t depicting reality any more than a pirate flick or spy caper—or an Ingmar Bergman film, for that matter.
The opening sequence features a white feather floating through a clear blue sky, thrown off course by random breezes, brushing up against pedestrians, and winding its way to the ground before it lands at the feet of the title character who is waiting on a bench for a bus in Savannah’s town square. Computer-generated imagery (CGI) took a big leap forward in 1994, including this feather, which illustrates the spontaneous way each of us navigates through the events and people in our lives with a mixture of chance and inevitability propelling us along.
Forrest Gump (Hanks) is an intellectually challenged individual who offers his story to anyone who’ll listen while he waits patiently for the #9 bus. It turns out he’s led an extraordinary life. Seeing the world through Forrest’s simplified lens gives us a surreal and atypical perspective, almost as if he were a visitor from another planet. It’s the politics, or lack thereof, that manage to set some people off. Forrest is an innocent bystander to our established social and political arenas, which can be startling at times, refreshing at others, aggravating, heartbreaking, and often very funny.
Forrest (played by Michael Conner Humphreys as a child) is informed at an early age that he’s not like everyone else. He wears braces on both legs to correct a crooked spine, and he isn’t smart enough to attend public school, that is until his mother (Sally Field) trades sexual favors with the principal to keep her son enrolled. Forrest’s lack of comprehension about his family’s racist past and his own mental and physical challenges proves evident early on. He operates on instinct, acts out of kindness with pure motivation, and trusts his heart.
As he begins to grow, Forrest breaks free from his imposed limitations. On his first bus ride to school, he meets a sweet girl named Jenny (Hanna R. Hall), and they become fast friends. Jenny is the only kid who doesn’t reject him outright, but she is damaged goods herself. Her father physically and sexually abuses her, and in one scene, she hides with Forrest in a cornfield behind her ramshackle house, wishing she could “fly far, far away.” Jenny is sent to live with her grandmother after that but spends the rest of her tormented life escaping from abusive people and unreliable places, always restless, always searching for peace and happiness. As an adult, Jenny is played by Robin Wright, whose haunting performance was overlooked by the Academy.
It’s through Jenny’s fear that Forrest discovers he has savant-like skills bordering on “super powers.” After Jenny tells him to run from a gang of bullies pursuing him in a pickup truck, Forrest does just that. We see him struggle with his leg braces until he bursts through them, casting the metal rods and leather straps aside in a moment of pure exhilaration and empowerment. Is this realistic? Not at all. It’s symbolic, and in such a triumphant way for anyone longing to rid themselves of physical and emotional constraints. I don’t have a problem with this unexpected departure, either, anymore than I do with Fellini characters chatting with their dead relatives on camera. It’s brilliant stuff.
Forrest then sets out on a series of fantastic adventures, guided by luck and circumstance. He finds himself in the company of several notable figures at defining moments in history, including Elvis Presley, George Wallace, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and John Lennon. Once again, state-of-the-art visual effects from the era, along with sound-alike voice actors, enhance these brief encounters, blending archival footage with a fictional narrative.
Due to his unprecedented speed on the football field, Forrest ends up a star college athlete with a full scholarship. After graduation, he encounters a military recruiter and enlists in the army, where he meets Bubba (Mykelti Williamson), a simple-minded ally with a remarkable penchant for shrimp. During their tour of duty in Vietnam, Forrest saves the lives of several soldiers in his unit, including Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise), their commanding officer who is convinced he should die in battle like so many of his relatives before him. Dan loses his legs in the siege while Bubba perishes before the rescue airlift arrives.
After becoming a world-class ping-pong player for the duration of his service, Forrest ends up in the shrimping business, fulfilling a promise he made to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan signs on as his partner, and together they operate a successful restaurant franchise known as Bubba Gump Shrimp—an example of life imitating art in the years since this film’s release.
Throughout their lives, Forrest and Jenny meet up several times. He never stops loving her, but Jenny is unable to accept his love or settle down. In truth, she doesn’t feel worthy of, or trust, genuine affection from anyone, and she doesn’t want to inflict her troubles on a sweet man like Forrest. Even after a night of love-making, she plans a quiet escape the next morning into her precarious and abusive world. Then Forrest starts running—from his life, his feelings, and the people around him—crossing the entire country on foot from coast to coast and back again.
Years go by, and out of the blue Jenny invites Forrest to her apartment in Savannah, which brings us to the beginning of the movie with Forrest waiting for the #9 bus. Overwhelmed by seeing her again, Forrest is stunned even further to meet their son, little Forrest (Haley Joel Osment in his screen debut). When Forrest asks Jenny if the boy is “smart or …,” I find my own tears flowing. It’s a revealing glimpse into the anguish he’s endured for his affliction and the desperate hope that he hasn’t passed it on to another human being. Jenny assures him that their child is bright. They move into Forrest’s old family home, but we soon learn that Jenny is dying from an “unknown virus.” This was the height of the AIDS pandemic, with so many lives lost. The two get married, but their time together is brief.
Standing near a tree at Jenny’s graveside, Hanks delivers the monologue that earned him a second consecutive Oscar for Best Actor. It’s a heart-wrenching moment in this film, but the acting is solid throughout. Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, and Robin Wright each deserve high praise. Over 25 years have passed since Forrest Gump was released in theatres, and this film holds up really well. It’s a fish story, a tall tale wrapped in a metaphorical box of chocolates. A blend of truth and fancy, fate and luck, whimsy and pathos. And I love every minute of it.
Forrest Gump
Director | Robert Zemeckis |
Primary Cast | Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, Haley Joel Osment, Michael Connor Humphreys, Hanna R. Hall, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sam Anderson, Peter Dobson, Geoffrey Blake |
Familiar Faces | none (no repeat performers from the previous winning films) |
Firsts | None to speak of |
Total Wins | 6 (Picture, Director, Actor: Tom Hanks, Screenplay: Adapted, Editing, Visual Effects) |
Total Nominations | 13 (Picture, Director, Actor: Tom Hanks, Supporting Actor: Gary Sinise, Screenplay: Adapted, Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Original Score) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
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