inspirational drama

Rating: 7/10 (8 February 2007)

A sentimental biography drama focusing upon the life of Chris Gardner where he finds life difficult with his family and his job.
Will Smith (Independence day) takes up the role and his strong positive portrayal of Gardener was enough to earn him an Oscar nomination. Deserving definitely but this year I believe will go to Forest Whitaker. No disrespect to Smith who was fantastic as Gardner and he definitely captured the true meaning of this film, which was emphasised through the hope and desire of his character.
The film is consistent enough with entertainment throughout, the occasional joke making the audience chuckle if nothing more but mainly this film is all about how difficult life is for many people. It's strong; it's passionate and justifies the drama genre.
Though Smith has said in interviews he did feel upset when filming particular scenes when juxtaposed with his own son, occasional scenes are hard to grasp and are not presented as strongly as they could be.
It is heart-warming on occasions. There is nothing wrong with the story as such, as it's based on the life of Christopher Gardner. Some scenes are hard to comprehend in realistic terms and I was very shocked to find out it was a true story after watching certain scenes believing at the time that it wasn't realistic. It is strong on many occasions, especially the relationship between the characters.
Many audiences can use Gardner as an inspirational role model as even when he is down he has the courage and confidence within himself to know that they are going to make it through no matter what.
It's a great inspiration for someone like me who can be negative on occasions and to look up to someone like Gardner is great as he is what a negative person would look for in a role model.
Smith deserves his Oscar nomination as he does make this film at most acceptable.
The plot does lack on many scenes and is not stressed as much as it could do but otherwise the film conforms brilliantly to the drama genre and is a definite watch.