Robert Zemeckis changed the way dramas are made with this crowd-pleasing classic

Director Robert Zemeckis is known for innovating film technology, but with Forest Gumphe combined this with a classic American tale. With Tom Hanks at his absolute peak and Robin Wright (who met in Here) transitioning from ’80s princess to dramatic actress, the trio were at the perfect point in their careers to make an essentially strange film and gross over $600 million at the global box office and sweep the Oscars.

Perhaps one of the strangest blockbusters in modern cinema history, Forest Gump is, in the end, one long montage. When some people say that Forest Gump It’s boring, generally referring to the subject matter, but the film’s pacing is relentless. Most scenes are less than three minutes long, likely because the film spans decades.

The Vietnam sequence is one of the few that goes on longer and is by far the most exciting part of the film. In contrast, Zemeckis gave the same treatment to Forrest’s three-year run, and it brought the film to a screeching halt. It’s a a testament to Hanks’ inherent likability and charm, which he manages to sustain in almost every scene.

In any other filmmaker’s hands, Forrest Gump would have been a disaster

Tom Hanks is a different kind of leading man

In different hands, Forest Gump is the exact opposite of an Oscar winner. When you think about your combined parts, It’s interesting, to say the least, that it has become a pop culture icon. “Life is like a box of chocolates”It lives permanently in the American subconscious. But the film is a period piece with an action sequence and perhaps the most serious and unreliable narrator ever. Hanks doesn’t play a typical protagonist and the tone of the film is truly unique. It’s a crowd-pleaser that’s almost universally loved — that’s saying something.

What makes the film truly It’s amazing how so many monumental things happen in Forrest and we are able to move on. Implying that Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and several presidents were heavily influenced by their time with Forrest is hilariously fascinating. In any other film, this would be farce or science fiction. In Forest Gumpthese elements are inseparable from the plot, but also an afterthought. This kind of straight comedy seems trite now, but there’s an inherent nostalgia that reminds us of a time when comedy didn’t have to be so self-referential.

Whenever I think the film starts to take itself too seriously, Zemeckis throws a curveball and has a voiceover in a diegetic joke. Forest Gump He always made us cry, but his ability to make us laugh has accompanied him throughout the decades. What stands out years later is how distant Robin Wright’s Jenny feels from Forrest. The beginning and end place them side by side, but she spends most of the film in tragic vignettes, away from her friend. Her performance is unimpeachable, but the suspension of disbelief increases when she finally shows signs of affection.

Too much of a good thing

Playing the hits is one thing, but Zemeckis goes too far

The music in Forest Gump It’s definitely tacky. Second only to Martin Scorsese’s overuse of the Rolling Stones, Zemeckis’ overuse of pop hits from the era is a frustrating fact about an American classic. An optimistic reading of this would be that this was what was happening at that moment. However, when “Running On Empty” is playing while Forrest has been running for three years and getting tired, it becomes too much. No matter how much I like The Doors, listening to three songs in a row is overkill.

Regardless, generations of viewers have seen the film and that kind of staying power is extraordinary. Flaws and all, the film unfolds like a storybook and this choice began the confidence that the script is capable of generating. Zemeckis refined the combination of real-life dramatic stories and CGI with Flight but the bones of it are in Forest Gump. I’m not sure most people would say Forest Gump is better than Back to the future but it’s safe to say that Zemeckis has certainly left his mark on Hollywood.