Forrest Gump (1994)
The multiple award-winning film Forrest Gump – directed by Robert Zemeckis – charts the life and times of the titular character, from 1944 to 1982, and sees this intellectually challenged man intersect and influence many moments throughout history. Along the way, he repeatedly crosses paths with Jenny (Robin Wright), with whom he has been wholly in love since their first childhood meeting.
Mixing moments of comedy with drama, Forrest Gump is a remarkable piece of work that excels precisely because Tom Hanks is in the lead role. Earning himself his second Oscar, Hanks embodies the balance of innocence and indignation that defines the character, and delivers some of the most devastating, heart-breaking scenes in recent history. The whole thing hinges upon the actor’s ability to take the audience along with him – wherever that story may go – and have them invest completely in his choices and actions.
This is exactly where the skill of Tom Hanks lies and so, by the final act of Forrest Gump, as Jenny tells him that the young boy he is looking at is his son – his reaction is everything. His gaze changes to fear, and he begins to shift on his feet – taking on the demeanour of a child expecting to be admonished. As she reassures him that he has done nothing wrong, we see a wave of emotion break in his expression, and he tearfully tries to ask if the boy has inherited his below average IQ level.
This moment is our first and only indication that Forrest is aware of the wider context in which his own IQ level exists. He has just spent a whole movie bolstering himself with his mother’s declarations and slogans – designed to specifically give him the confidence to take on the world – and he has not once referred to his IQ in a negative way. It is a moment of extreme honesty and vulnerability.
When Forrest is faced with his own child, in that single moment, Hanks delivers a number of things simultaneously – the overwhelming emotion of a father seeing his child for the first time; the hopes and dreams a parent has for their offspring; the guilt of a parent in their awareness of their own traits and personality; the fear of responsibility; and the wonder of a new beginning. That is surely the moment that won him a second golden statuette, and it was entirely deserved.
