An amazing character performance by Will Smith...

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2006)

Be warned: this movie is not for people suffering from the following incurable conditions: emotional instability/weakness/insecurity; and teenagers suffering from unusually extreme hormonal cycles.
Summary
Chris Gardner (Will Smith) struggles to keep his and his son's lives together as the world around them begins to crumble. Money AND wife troubles at the same time? who could survive under such treacherous conditions? Based on a true story, Chris tackles constant financial debts and marriage problems whilst desperately holding on to his beloved son Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith). He enlists unlikely (and indeed risky at times) methods/career paths as his fight for stability and comfort continues into deeper, more difficult territory...
Positives
An amazing acting performance by Will Smith - certainly an Oscar candidate. The depth to which Will is able to lend to Chris's character is outstanding, if depressing at times. Christopher - the son, is excellent and acts like he was born for the role.
Negatives
More could have been done to lift the spirits in this movie - a lot more! And NOT at the expense of audience satisfaction, time or indeed at the expense of the ultimate purpose of the story - 'adversity through poverty' or 'rags to riches' etc. Indeed, the reality of the story upon which this film is based would have reasonably expected it. In my opinion, 5-10 more minutes of such content (spoiler avoidance) and this movie would have been lifted into 'greatest of the decade' territory. Shame.
All in all - excellent...