Director Gus Van Sant draws heavily on thematic elements from his own work in "Good Will Hunting" in his new film, "Finding Forrester." The film has feel-good intentions from the very first scene, but Mike Rich's screenplay is a decidedly less convincing take on the genius-in-an-urban-environment theme developed by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in "Good Will Hunting."

Newcomer Robert Brown, reportedly discovered by Van Sant himself, delivers the film's most sincere performance as Jamal Joyce, a 16-year old Bronx native.

Outwardly he resembles his neighborhood friends-his grades are mediocre and his life seems to revolve around street basketball-but Jamal is an avid reader and writer.

When test scores reveal his intelligence, prestigious private schools immediately come calling.

At this point, Jamal encounters William Forrester (Sean Connery), a recluse who turns out to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Forrester becomes Jamal's mentor when he enrolls in a private school and faces the all-too-predictable dilemmas of romance with a rich white girl (Anna Paquin) and conflict with a teacher (F. Murray Abraham) who refuses to believe that Jamal's writing could be anything but plagiarized.

The film is tainted by its similarities to the superior "Good Will Hunting." It even includes a cameo appearance by Matt Damon at the end, at which point the resemblance becomes too much to bear. Perhaps "Forrester" would have commanded more respect had it preceded "Good Will Hunting," but as it stands, it is overly derivative.