Goodness, just goodness

Rating: 8/10 (9 September 2013)

One of my favourite Maugham stories, one that's little known because it's so short, is 'Salvatore'. It ends with the following unforgettable words:
"I started by saying that I wondered if I could do it and now I must tell you what it is that I have tried to do. I wanted to see whether I could hold your attention for a few pages while I drew for you the portrait of a man, just an ordinary fisherman who possessed nothing in the world except a quality which is the rarest, the most precious and the loveliest that anyone can have. Heaven only knows why he should so strangely and unexpectedly have possessed it. All I know is that it shone in him with a radiance that, if it had not been unconscious and so humble, would have been to the common run of men hardly bearable. And in case you have not guessed what the quality was, I will tell you. Goodness, just goodness."
Substitute the "few pages" for "a little over two hours", and there's 'Forrest Gump' for you, in a nutshell.
Goodness, unalloyed and uncontaminated, is always very difficult to portray on screen, and it's even more difficult to make a tale of pure goodness riveting viewing. Grey is always so much more interesting than white. Yet, there are the rare examples of cinematic excellence where the story is just about goodness, and the wonderful places it can take you. Told with panache, and essayed with sincerity, goodness still retains its power to hold. 'Yankee Doodle Dandy', with James Cagney's unforgettable performance as George M Cohan, is one such example. 'Forrest Gump', with Tom Hanks literally living the role, is another.
The story is epic in scope. It spans more than half of Gump's life, and portrays how greatness has nothing to do with IQ. There is such a lot to learn, about human nature, from the film, that it can hardly be told within the limited scope of a review. Gump lives his life on the surface, and yet the film is introspective, of life, in the extreme. It breaks the wall of entertainment and takes us to a place where celluloid becomes Art.
I'm saying nothing further about the story. And yet, I cannot but omit to mention the scene, near the end of the film, when Gump meets Jenny, luminously portrayed by Robin Wright, and her son. The chiaroscuro of expressions which cross Gump's face in that scene can serve as a textbook example for all who want to know what Acting is all about. The film is worth repeated viewings even for that one single shot.
And yet, wonder of wonders, there are those who have panned 'Forrest Gump'. Well, it takes all types to make a world.