The Pursuit Of Happyness

The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabriele Muccino

With prior knowledge that Will Smith's role in this movie had been nominated for best actor in the 2007 Oscars, I was expecting a decent performance. However instead, I got an amazing performance, having watched it at the Commodore cinema in Aberystwyth.

The plot centres around Chris Gardner (Will Smith) in 1981, who has a wife played by Thandie Newton and A child (played by the adorable Jaden Smith, Will Smith's son). The opening montage immediately allows the audience to connect with his character and lifestyle, as we see him trying to sell bone marrow detection machinery, a business venture that is going wrong. There is then a flashback of them moving into their new home, when their lives were ‘happy’ and before his job as a salesperson became unsuccessful. The resulting action in the present day is now financial pressure upon the family and his wife having to juggle between jobs.

The atmosphere finally reaches breaking point and Thandie Newtons character moves to New York to hopefully get a steady and reliable job, leaving Chris to look after his son. What makes this film seem unique, is that even though there should be intended sympathy for the female protagonist, the actual sympathy is with Will Smith's character. The removal of the female protagonist then paves the way for the male protagonist's emotional journey, about a father who when he was younger did exceptionally well in school but worried about stretching further and being discouraged. But as the situation reaches breaking point, his inner anxieties will have to be cast aside in order to fight for his son and their very future, and about how far you would go in order to survive and be 'happy`.

This is by far, one of Will Smith's greatest films, an emotional, heart wrenching portrayal of a man against the odds and working, grinding, testing the boundaries in order to become someone. He is trying to beat off competition in the hope of getting a job as a stockbroker whereby he has to use his people skills, wits and willingness to achieve this. His ultimate goal and passion is to be happy with his son, but there is a deep and moralistic undertone. the fact that what’s staring straight at him in the face is his son, so can it be argued that his son is happiness in itself.

Both Will Smith and his son portray a brilliant partnership, their relationship with each other off screen helps on screen, as they both have a great chemistry with decent acting and charging the tone of the piece, to get the audience connecting with their characters. All in all, an amazing performance by Will Smith, and to see the trailer click on play below and click on the link above to take you to IMDB.