So from now on, I am going to try to hone in on just one or two aspects of the movie that struck me, to try and make this blog a little more interesting.
Forrest Gump is a story of American History in the mid to late 20th Century, as told through the life experiences of a mentally challenged young man from Alabama.
One of the many things that made this a great movie was Tom Hanks's voice and delivery as the title character.
Hanks had a certain way of adding a syllable at the end of a lot of his sentences and turning the tone upward, almost as if he was asking a question.
For example, when introducing himself, he often says, "My name is Forrest, Forrest Gu-ump."
The rest of his lines are delivered with a flatness that creates an overall impression of naivete, and of a challenged young man just trying to do the best he can and get along in the world.
Almost from the very beginning, Gump captures the interest and affection of the audience as he begins to tell the story of his life to random strangers who sit down beside him at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia.
Hanks says that he got the idea for the voice of his character by basically mimicking the actor chosen to play Forrest Gump as a young boy (Michael Conner Humphreys). Humphreys is from Mississippi, and the way he spoke in the film is the way he talked in real life.
Hanks's facial expressions as Forrest Gump fit the voice, too. Very often he just has a plain, blank stare. At other times, as when he is running from bullies across a football field or when he is in a fire fight in Vietnam, the only thing betraying his emotions are eyes open wide in fear.
One of my favorite moments in the movie is his look of determination as he runs down a stadium tunnel at an Alabama football game. He was supposed to stop after he scored the touchdown, but he keeps on going. The camera shows him in slow motion in his football uniform, a look of stress on his face as he narrates, "Now, maybe it's just me, but college was very confusing times."
Forrest Gump is a story of my parents' generation. Chronologically, the movie ends in the early 1980s.
There is a young woman who listens to Forrest talk about his life for a while on the bus stop bench. She has a child with her.
Referring to the assassination attempt on Governor Wallace, she says, "I remember that, when Wallace got shot. I was in college."
My own mother was in college when Wallace was shot, and I would have been about the same age as the woman's child in that scene, at that time. One of the last historical events depicted in the movie is when President Reagan was shot, and that is my first public memory.
My parents both enjoy the movie except for when it switches to Vietnam, which does not bring back pleasant thoughts for them.
Forrest Gump is a great story for many other reasons. I would put it in my list of top ten best films ever made.
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