Every scene has an emotional subtlety and expressiveness that touched me

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2007)

In Pursuit of Happiness, is directed by Gabriele Muccino, written by Steve Conrad and starring Will Smith. I was touched at the range of emotion, entirely engrossed by the story and completely drained by the end of the film.
Set in the 1980's in San Francisco, Will Smith portrays Chris Gardner, a father struggling to sell a loser medical machine, with dreams of giving his family a better life. On what would seem like a whim, he decides to try to be a stock broker. In order to get the job he has to take an unpaid internship that has little promise of panning out to a job at all. He is months behind on the rent, he hasn't made a sell in a long time but he decides to do the internship anyways. During the internship he and his son can no longer pay the rent and they become homeless.
Gardner is a conflicted character. He wants to improve his family's life but in order to do so he has to risk everything and make their lives harder for a while. There is also no promise of a job if he takes the risk. His wife eventually tires of working double shifts and perceives his aspirations as a fool hardy pipe-dream. Linda, played by Thandie Newton, is tired, frazzled and hopeless. She can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. Gardner's last scheme had eaten up their entire life's savings. In a fit of selfish anger she leaves for New York and abandons both Gardner and their son, Christopher.
The story reminds me of Erin Brockovich and is just as touching. Writer Steve Conrad quilts a story of pain, doubt and fear but lines it with a radiant hope. An actor can only be as good as his script and Conrad gives each actor an opportunity to shine.
My hat off to Gabriele Muccino for taking the risk of a light internal narration and making it truly work for this film.
Will Smith's painful scenes are exhaustively powerful. This film required a girth of emotion unrivaled by any of his previous films and Smith does not disappoint. In one scene the script requires an emotional gamut that runs from hopeful, hopeless, silly, tired, exhausted, and eventually to depression. He holds together this scene that could have easily fallen into melodrama with delicate precision. I felt the weight of his physical burdens throughout the movie. Smith's transformation to "A" list actor is complete.
Thandie Newton plays Linda, Gardner's wife. Newton portrays Linda's justifiable anger with passion and control. She makes Linda more than just a selfish wife who runs off but rather a character so exhausted by being let down that she doesn't want to take it anymore. I felt for Linda because Newton was so exhausted looking and maxed out feeling. Newton is an amazing actress who proves again that her acting is a reason to see a movie.
Jaden Christopher Syer Smith plays Christopher, Gardner and Linda's son.
Often you have to rate a child actor on the "child actor" scale but Jaden can be judged on the traditional actor's scale. He did an exceptional job in this roll. This movie was demanding emotionally on all the characters but Jaden captures the instability so damaging to children in these situations. He also does an incredible job of giving hope to the film. I can't wait to see how he matures as an actor. Numerous movies have been made about women who struggled to get by. I was impressed that this film could touch me and that I could relate to a father's struggle as well.
In Pursuit of Happiness is a powerfully written and acted film. Every scene has an emotional subtlety and expressiveness that touches the audience in a personal and intimate way. I might just see this one again.
LaRae Meadows laraemeadows@gmail.com http://laraemeadows.livejournal.com www.justpressplay.net