I watched the movie long back ago and had quite unclear memory of it. Until recently I watched it again and I was surprised because how I remembered was quite different from the story itself, especially when it comes to Jenny, the love of Forrest’s life. So I thought I owe this to her.
Well I watched this when I was in high school or first year of bachelor’s I guess, and what I remember was Jenny is completely a b*tch who manipulated Forrest’s mind and had him responsible for the kid she had with another jerk that dumbed her. Let’s say I was too much biased because I was young and had no experience in life. I watched the movie and cared only about what they showed, which is everything that happened around Forrest. I saw things and people through his eyes but with my own prejudice. So the memory I had was actually what I believed I saw, not what actually happened.
Now watching it again, with some experience with life and people, I realized Jenny was indeed just a poor young girl who fought her way to find out what is right to do. She made mistakes just like many other people but she deserved a happy ending. And I can see why Forrest was obsessed with her.
[Spoiler alert – you really should watch the movie before reading this]
So let’s go back to the first part when Forrest was just a little boy, being bullied because of his supported legs and not-so-wise mind. Jenny was the only one treated him like a normal friend, spending time with him, caring about him. She had a bad childhood with the drunk father which made her later life suffer. The time with Forrest was more of a way to stay away from her home rather than just to enjoy with him.
When they grew up, just like many other girls, she was in love with some bad boys, playboys, which could actually result from her tragic childhood. But when Forrest showed up and beat her boyfriend in the car outside her dorm in a rainy night, she was not mad at Forrest and pushed him away. Instead she took him to her room and warmed him up. She told him about the dream to become a famous singer. When Forrest saw her singing naked, he did think that she made her dream come true but she, as the one who just got humiliated by drunk freaks, just couldn’t bear the fact that she screwed up and ran away, even thought about jumping off the bridge. When Forrest told her he was sent to Vietnam, she hesitated to run and hugged him. I would say even when her mind was not stable, she still treasured the only true friend she had since childhood.
During his hard time in the war, he just kept thinking about her and sent hell lots of letters to her. But they were all not delivered. I guess this was the part that made me hate her that much even though it was not her fault. When he was back and got medal and spoke in the protest, she realized it was him and happily ran towards him. She introduced him to her boyfriend, her group, which she followed to do the protest. And again when Forrest tried to protect her, she just stayed beside him and talked. She might have the feeling that this is the guy she should be with but she might also hesitate because she didn’t want to screw up the only thing good happened in her life. So she kept going on the way she chose and continued to feel stuck from time to time.
When Forrest made a fortune out of shrimp business and got back to his hometown to become a gardener, Jenny came to him. After all the exhausting journeys she’s been through, she slept peacefully in his home, knowing that she’s finally safe here. They again had very good time until Forrest brought up the marriage stuff. After saying love words back and making love with him, she again ran away. This is a tricky part, which also made me angry at her. But if we could stand in her shoes, she might have thought that after all she didn’t deserve this. Sometimes you freak out when something good happens, you think it’s too good to be true, you think you don’t deserve it, you’re afraid that you might mess things up and you run. That could be Jenny.
At the end she reached out to him when she already figured out her life and raised the kid herself properly. She may be selfish to not let him know about it earlier but I think she had to be able to stand on her own feet first. Otherwise if she can’t find peace in her mind and keep running away then she can never get a happy ending for herself. So it was actually a happy ending for her and for him too when their love ends well and the kid is smart and cute. Even though she can’t live longer to enjoy the happiness but in the end she found peace for her soul.
Yes, I just told the story from Jenny’s perspective. I know not every part she was right but I think I can understand her now, much better than I did when I first saw the movie. You may say it’s just a movie why so serious. Well, I’m just impressed with how I have changed mentally when I watched it again. I might watch it again in 10 years and see what else I can change 🤭
How about you?
Chim's space 