rimming with heart, poignancy, and a healthy dose of humor, “The Pursuit of Happyness” is poised to be the feel-good drama of the year. Breaking away from his traditional comedic (and alien-fighting) roles, Will Smith proves his range of acting abilities as he tackles the multi-layered persona of the real-life Chris Gardner. Starting with little, losing that, and then finding hope and redemption through his unyielding determination, Smith forges a powerhouse performance in one of his most moving roles.

Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a down-on-his-luck salesman who made an unfortunately large investment in the new technology of Bone Density Scanners (similar to x-ray machines), discovering too late that they are an expensive commodity that most hospitals and doctors deem a luxury and not a necessity. With his funds rapidly diminishing on rent and bills, and his opportunities to offload the scanners all but gone, the stress placed upon his wife (Thandie Newton) becomes unbearable – causing her to leave him. Left with his young son (Jaden Smith) and no funds, Gardner acts on an internship at Dean Witter to begin training as a stockbroker. But with little hope of success and no initial pay, Gardner must desperately attempt to make ends meet. When income taxes deplete him of his assets and thieves steal his scanners, he’s evicted from his home – and that’s just the start of the hardships he must endure on the road to reclaiming his life. But no matter what tragedies befall him, Chris will never give up in his pursuit of happiness.

Straying from his typical blockbuster-friendly genres, Will Smith takes a chance with this rollercoaster biopic to resoundingly prove his acting merits. With a broad range of emotions, he creates a very vulnerable, human character, quick to garner sympathy for relatable mistakes and struggles. Though the misfortunes that befall Gardner would be unbearably depressing in reality, Smith’s steadfast determination and spry wit afford the audience an optimism that, no matter how drastic the situation, indicates a positive outcome – if only because his hopefulness can never truly be conquered. While the film’s major themes are undeniably serious ones, Smith is still able to lighten the mood with smart retorts and physical comedy. And Smith’s own son, Jaden, also turns in a surprisingly strong performance as the five-year-old concerned and confused by his father’s sudden predicaments.

According to Smith in a recent interview, he’s not interested in winning Oscars, but rather helping to change the world – and it seems that with “The Pursuit of Happyness,” he’s taking a step in the right direction for both. Recruiting Gabriele Muccino, an Italian director, Smith hoped to gain a fresh, outsider perspective (despite financial misfortune being a universal subject), which could elicit a richer performance from him than anything he had done before. His son Jaden also forced him to adapt and quickly improvise, as he worked to keep his portrayal unpredictable and spontaneous.

Though racial issues could have been used as a ready answer for Gardner’s struggles, Smith commendably opts not to emphasize that aspect, instead focusing on his trials with classism and poverty. His accomplishments become even greater when viewers factor in all the seemingly insurmountable odds against prosperity that are barely touched upon during the course of the film (chronicled in greater depth in the memoir by Gardner, on which the screenplay by Steven Conrad is based). The message becomes one of persistence and perseverance rather than prejudice and discrimination – and the film is a better one for it.

– Joel Massie