The combination of Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant and Oscar-winning actor Sean Connery makes “Finding Forrester” an outstanding drama about passion, courage, and finding out what you’re really made of.

“Finding Forrester” is about unlikely friends. William Forrester (Connery), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, is an introverted loner who sits in his apartment staring out at the world. Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is an extraordinary basketball player and an underchallenged student whose sky-high test scores have earned him scholarships to the leading Manhattan high schools.

Forrester and Wallace form a love-hate relationship after Wallace breaks into Forrester’s apartment and in his haste leaves his backpack of journals. They are eventually returned … with corrections and comments. As these two begin to interact, they tackle not only their issues with each other but their hangups with the outside world.

Connery’s performance makes his character riveting without taking up the whole screen. Rob Brown also does a wonderful job in his first big-screen role. All of the characters balance each other nicely and allow for great chemistry.

This movie leaves you hopeful that you too will experience that kind of friendship sometime in your life.