The performance of the year, and a film to be enjoyed for years to come.

Rating: 9/10 (27 April 2007)

I'm an unabashed sucker for feel-good movies. I'm not going to apologize for liking a movie that tugs at the heartstrings. Especially if it works.
And this movie does.
Simply: it's about a man who, along with his son, is abandoned by his wife because of financial difficulties. Having no prospects, he latches on to the idea of being a stock broker. He's highly intelligent, and driven, but lacks the education or experience to be taken seriously. Through force of will, he's accepted into an unpaid internship with a firm, but he's also forced into homelessness, because fighting for this internship doesn't allow him to work (except for some sales work on the weekends).
Oh, and it's "inspired" by a true story.
That's all I'll say about the plot.
This film works because it's not "just" a simple, heart-warming tale of a man's struggle to gain control of his life and pursue his dreams. That's not really what this film is. We've seen that film a hundred times.
No, this is about a man trying to understand his place in life, when the situation he's found himself in is so vastly different from what he feels his life could be, or should be. It's not just "inspiring", it's evocative. It's eye-opening.
This film works because it's emotionally honest. It goes beyond simplicity, and achieves a poignancy few films even strive for. And all through this film, Will Smith's brilliant portrayal gives the story a relevance it wouldn't have if another actor was in the roll. He shrugs off all the mannerisms and personality that has made him the biggest star in Hollywood (since the collapse of Tom Cruise, at least), and disappears into this movie.
Will Smith's performance is a tribute to everyone out there who's had far-reaching dreams, but never actually accomplished any of those goals. It's beyond "inspiring", because that's such a hackneyed description of a film. Film's are often called "inspiring" when they're really nothing more than derivative of other films that actually do instill some sense of the "brotherhood of man".
After watching this film, I found myself more aware of the people around me. More respectful of everyone else. I realize this feeling is only temporary, that I'll go back to being annoyed by people in my way at the grocery store. But for those fleeting moments after seeing this film, I liked people more. I wanted to help complete strangers have a good day.
And that effect far outstrips the great performance of Will Smith. This film dug through the cynicism and apathy in life, and touched the core of my being, inspiring me to be a better person.
And, ultimately, shouldn't more films strive to do that? Will Smith should have won an Oscar for this, and this film should have gotten nominated for Best Picture (I think it was better than Babel, though more conventional). This movie is the most emotionally powerful film since Brokeback Mountain, and the most inspiring movie I've seen since, perhaps, Life is Beautiful in 1997.
Thirty years from now, I think I'll love this film more than any other released this year.