Genres

Visitors Review

Roland E. Zwick 2012-05-24 23:35:05

succeeds despite the clichés

"Freedom Writers" is a film that really shouldn't work but somehowdoes. After all, it's been over fifty years since "The BlackboardJungle" drew up the blueprint that all future "super teacher" dramaswould feel called upon to follow. The formula goes something like this:a young, hopelessly naive idealist from a privileged background, filledwith romantic notions about molding young minds and saving the world,is rudely thrust into an inner city classroom overflowing withrecalcitrant troublemakers and streetwise thugs whom all the otherfaculty members and school board big wigs have written off as incapableof learning. After a few sessions in which the students run roughshodover the touchy-feely, ill-prepared newcomer, the teacher inevitablyachieves a breakthrough by reaching the kids "where they're at,"eventually turning them all into model citizens no longer cognizant ofsocioeconomic or racial barriers and all ready to move ahead and makesomething of their lives. Inevitably, the teacher becomes a role modelfor the youngsters, one who has to fight a constant, solitary battleagainst the other burnt-out faculty members, administrators and schooldistrict bureaucrats who have long ago given up expecting the kids tolearn and feel that if they are simply able to "warehouse" them andkeep them from killing one another in the hallways, they are fulfillingtheir responsibilities as faithful stewards of the taxpayers' money.Given its slavish adherence to the formula, it's hard not to be cynicalabout a movie like "Freedom Writers," but damned if the whole thingdoesn't worm its way into our affections despite all our best effortsto resist it (maybe some formulas ARE formulas for the simple reasonthat they actually work). The movie is based on an actual Englishteacher named Erin Gruwell, who arrived at Wilson Classical High Schoolin Long Beach, Ca., in the fall of 1993. Faced with a class full ofhostile African-American, Asian and Hispanic gang members, Gruwelleventually broke down their resistance and got them interested inlearning by having them write personal journals in which they pouredout their innermost thoughts, concerns and feelings about their livesand the world in which they lived. This led to a publication of thestudents' writing and the setting up of a foundation dedicated tohelping inspire other inner city kids to stay in school and reach forthe stars.It is the initial journal entries that serve as the source for much ofthe screenplay, and writer/director Richard LaGravenese has wiselychosen to showcase their entries in the form of voice-over narration.More than anything else, it is this device that lends the film thedepth it might otherwise lack and that lifts it above the clichés ofthe genre. The other key element in the film's success is the uniformlyexcellent work turned in by the actors and actresses playing theyoungsters. Each and every one of them has a natural and believable wayabout them that draws us into the lives of the characters they areportraying. Particular notice should be paid to April L. Hernandez andDeance Wyatt who are genuine standouts in a truly impressive ensemblecast. Hillary Swank does well in the role of Gruwell, but it is ameasure of the casts' talent here that she is often upstaged by theyoungsters. I can imagine this film serving as the launching pad forquite a few impressive careers in the future.The movie acknowledges the downside of Gruwell's nobility anddedication by chronicling the negative effect the job has on hermarriage and home life, but these scenes aren't dramatized in aparticularly convincing way, so all they really succeed in doing isslowing down the action and diluting the impact of the teacher/studentrelationships (Patrick Demsey and Scott Glenn are also largely wastedin the roles of Gruwell's less-than-supportive husband and fatherrespectively). Moreover, the other faculty members are little more thanstraw man caricatures whose sole purpose is to serve as foils againstwhich Gruwell's nobility can stand out all the more impressively. (Thewonderful Imelda Staunton does, however, manage to imbue her stereotypeof the bitter, nay-saying educator with a surprising amount of depthand humanity). Gruwell's experience with these youngsters is compellingenough in its own right without having to stack the deck against herunnecessarily and reducing everyone else to the level of callousvillain just to make the point.It's true that anyone who has seen "To Sir With Love," "Up the DownStaircase," "Stand and Deliver," "Dangerous Minds" - or any of thecountless other "Blackboard Jungle" knockoffs that have come our wayover the years - will not be surprised by much that happens in "FreedomWriters," but there are many genuinely touching moments in the movie,especially those involving a field trip the kids take to the Museum ofTolerance in Los Angeles, their reading of "The Diary of Anne Frank,"and their meeting with the actual woman (here played by movie veteranPat Carroll) who helped to hide the Franks and others from the Nazis.The movie does hint at one further potential dark side to the "superteacher" phenomenon. At the end of the movie, we are informed thatGruwell followed her students throughout their four years of highschool, then took a job as a teacher at a local college. One wonderswhy, if this was such a "calling" for Gruwell, she didn't ultimatelystick with the profession beyond the initial four years. Could it bethat such teachers are like dazzling supernovas that blaze brightly fora season then burn themselves out, leaving the duller but steadierstars to light the way for future students? Sad to say, that may justbe the one unintended message audiences will take away from the movie.

Bill Muller 2012-05-24 14:52:17

Try as they might, the kids in Freedom Writers can't break free from Hollywood formula.

2012-05-23 17:18:28

Freedom to express

This review is from: Freedom Writers (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) Alot of insight expressed on everyday events that are taking place, we are unaware of.

2012-05-23 09:10:05

Does it really matter that it's been done before?

The over zealous, naive, well raised white person, forsakes riches, comes to the hood and saves lives; yes, it's been done before. Having worked briefly (while in college); and I stress briefly, as a teachers assistant, I always approach these films with a bit of caution. I was pleasantly surprised with Freedom Writers however, because it didn't hold back. Hillary Swank, April L. Hernandez and Imelda Staunton give inspirational performances. And the scenes recounting the violence these children face on a daily basis is stirring. Even more disturbing is the realization that a great many of our young minds are subjected to this type of reality. I commend the Erin Gruwells of the world. Does it really matter that we've seen this before? Teaching in our country is often a thankless pursuit and I think it's good that we be reminded from time to time as to the dire condition of public education in this country.

Chris Vognar 2012-05-22 21:46:14

It's not a great movie, but at-risk teens could do a lot worse.

Steve Rhodes 2012-05-22 08:59:11

Completely flat, it's a well-intentioned dog, but a dog nonetheless.

sddavis63 2012-05-22 13:08:06

A Powerful Movie With Truly Interesting Content

I've been a bit of the opinion lately that this whole concept (underdogovercomes, and the focus on the person who helps them overcome) isgetting a bit stale and tired, because it's been overdone. I have toconcede that this movie is a powerful demonstration that if it's welldone, this type of movie can still be very effective. No, it isn'tparticularly original. The idealistic young teacher goes into a classof troubled students and makes a difference! Yeah, it's a true storybut we have seen it before. And yet, it works - and it works very well.It works so well partly because of Hilary Swank. I had my doubts. Herwork has generally not overwhelmed me, but she did a good job with thispart. I thought she captured the essence of teacher Erin Gruwell well -idealistic at first, frustrated and confused when she finds out howdifficult this class is going to be, and then fiercely determined asshe makes a plan to help the class out and refusing to back down underpressure. I liked the plan. That was probably what gave this movie theedge it would have lacked if it had just been a copy of all the otherslike it. Her decision to challenge the gang mindset of the class bycomparing it to Nazism, and eventually using the Diary of Ann Frank asa teaching tool that got into the kids heads was fascinating. The useof real Holocaust survivors was moving, and, while she was played byPat Carroll, the story of Miep Gies, who hid Ann Frank, was well used.It was also effective to see the classroom as a microcosm of the largerproblem - as the city was divided into racial groups who both loathedand feared each other, so was the classroom. The lone white student whohad no friends or allies because he was alone and therefore had to feareveryone was especially haunting. The growing bond between the studentsand the breaking down of the barriers was perhaps portrayed a bit tooquickly and easily, but still made the point that barriers can bebroken down bit by bit. As with many of the movies of this type, therewas also an effective critique of an education system that reallyprefers to give up on its troubled kids rather than help them riseabove their troubles.It's a pretty powerful movie. 9/10

2012-05-22 04:11:50

Freedom Writers (Full Screen Edition)

This review is from: Freedom Writers (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) Freedom Writers (Full Screen Edition), in recived in excellent conditions, I used in one of my course. thanks a lot. A. Obergh

screenwriter-14 2012-05-20 19:03:30

"Nice Pearls...But I wouldn't wear them in the classroom."

What a great beginning to 2007 to see this tremendous film, THE FREEDOMWRITERS, with a stunning performance from Hilary Swank and a cast ofyoung men and women who make you "cheer and cry" all through the filmfor their stories and their personal journeys. And what a timely filmto come out in Los Angeles when our mayor has recently gone to the Fedsand asked for more money to handle the intolerable gang issues in LosAngeles.Richard LaGravenese has delivered an infectious film that deals withreal issues of teachers and American education today, and to watchthese young students grow into productive lives, as well as to see howthey can learn when given the chance by a teacher who believes in themand their abilities to learn, is tremendous.The music, dialog and the location of Long Beach all make THE FREEDOMWRITERS click and adding in the personal history of the persecution ofthe Jews and Anne Frank's own diary, was such a marvelous way to makethe students see that their own lives were similar to others who havelost love ones to the evils of war and destruction.THE FREEDOM WRITERS, like BOBBY, gives a picture of what happened inthe 1960's in the South, and like those who lost their lives to helpothers, these new LONG BEACH, California FREEDOM WRITERS are on a pathto ensure "change" is just not a word, but an action.

jon.h.ochiai 2012-05-20 09:49:34

Life is Context

Life is context. Hilary Swank's Erin Gruwell tells young gangsterMarcus (Jason Fin), "… You know what happens when you're dead? Peopleare going to go on living and forget all about you!" 15 year-old Marcuswishes to "die a warrior" protecting his own. No, as Swank's Gruwellpleads his young death would accomplish nothing. For students in thisLong Beach high school this is the gang and race war, where everyoneloses, void of possibility, all about survival. For many, surviving totheir 18th birthday is a milestone. In Director and Writer RichardLaGravenese's "Freedom Writers" based on the "The Freedom WritersDiary" by real-life teacher Erin Gruwell splintered racial gangs becomea family, because Ms. G (Gruwell) really "sees" her students anddismisses their uninspired excuses. She is undyingly committed to theirgreatness. As Erin, Swank really walks the walk. She is absolutelypowerful. In giving a toast to her class Erin requests, "The person youwere. That person is over." "Freedom Writers" is the most inspiring andtouching movie of this young year. "Freedom Writers" is about seeingand inspiring greatness in the presence of no possibility, and walkingthe walk.In 1994 Erin (Swank) is a new teacher at a Long Beach high schoolteaching freshman English. Reviewing young Erin's reading list,Principal Margaret Campbell (Imelda Stanton) notes to Erin that Homeris entirely inappropriate for her student's elementary reading levels.Campbell instructs idealist Erin to baby-sit her class, because shewill not be able to teach them anything of value. If there is oneweakness of the movie it is that Campbell is a cold villain. Notknowing much about the history of this story, I would surmise thatCampbell was a victim of her own idealism being beaten from her. One ofthe offsetting strengths is Scott Glenn as Erin's father Steve, whoadvises Erin to do her time and "do your job".Erin's students know that have been written off in this racial chargedand divisive classroom. Maintaining order, much less teaching Englishis a threatening nightmare. With her father's pearl necklace and properdresses, Erin seems an easy victim. However, Swank gives Erin abeguiling spirit and tenacity. The Blacks, Latinos, and Cambodiansstake their territory in her classroom and are unyielding in retreat.Eva (amazing April Lee Hernandez) silences the room and breaks Erin'sheart when she proclaims, "I hate white people!", and proceeds tojustify. Where Erin draws her line in sand is when she sees a racistcartoon of her student Jamal (Deance Wyatt). She schools her wannabegangsters that their game is not even in the same league—as the Nazis.The tipping point occurs when Erin along with her Dad escort her classto the Museum of Tolerance as they learn about the Holocaust. Her classeven reads "The Diary of Anne Frank". Her Dad (Glenn) begins to seeErin's great gift and acknowledges her, "I admire you…" Erin isdedicated to her students carrying two other jobs so she can buy booksand provide aids for her students. However, this comes at a cost. Herhusband Scott (Patrick Dempsey of "Grey's Anatomy") supports herpassion, but with Erin giving her all to her students there is littleelse left. Here Dempsey is poignant as a good man stuck in selflesspath.Hilary Swank is amazing and powerful as Erin or "Ms. G". Although thisis early in the year, this is an Oscar worthy performance. Swank shouldonly play characters with great passion and humanity. There is anelectrifying scene where Marcus tells her Erin, "That don't fly, Ma!"Erin reminds her class that she is not their mother. Then Eva and Andre(Mario) tell her that "Ma" is a sign of respect. Swank's power ispunctuated by her listening and eloquence on screen. She silences theaudience when she tells Andre, "I can see you…" The young cast isequally strong and amazing. Eva Lee Hernandez's performance as Eva is astudy in authenticity and courage. Jason Fin as tough guy familyoutcast Marcus is deceivingly vulnerable and touching. Mario has acommanding presence and charisma as the street smart Andre. Though Evahas the showier role, Mario's Andre gives the movie much of its heartand humanity. Scott Glenn makes a very touching turn as Erin'sfather—he is great. LaGravenese never shies away from the starkhopelessness and violence of this Long Beach school. And much like forMiep Gies ("The Diary of Anne Frank") these students that endure andmove forward are his heroes, along with the woman who inspired andrecaptured their innate greatness, Erin Gruwell. "Freedom Writers" is avery special movie.

Donna 2012-05-19 02:54:32

A Teacher's viewpoint

I personally have not seen the movie, but I have read the book and most of your reviews. My suggestion to all of you is read the book. If I sound like an english teacher it is because I am, but seriously the book was excellent.

2012-05-18 08:36:38

The Most Inspirational Movie I've Ever Watched!!

'Nuff said. But seriously, this is a movie about how teachers are really supposed to be relating to their students. Erin, a high-school teacher in Long Beach, gives an education in tolerance and realizing your potential to her class where her students are marred by gangs and domestic violence. She doesnt pretend to be their friend or that she truly know what it feels to be in their shoes - but she gives them a voice to speak to break the silent barriers of intolerance and misunderstanding. Hillary Swank gives an amazing performance. You will come out of this movie wishing you could make such a difference in other people's lives.

Peter T. Chattaway 2012-05-18 06:47:56

At first glance, it looks like it might be just another one of those films in which a white idealist liberates her non-white pupils, but thankfully, it's better than that.

radar0774 2012-05-17 20:48:27

Every high school student should see this movie.

This is one of the best inspirational high school movies I've seen yet.The director wasn't afraid to show a glimpse of what life was like forthese kids (and death.) Of course they may edit some things out to geta PG13 rating (I hope they don't.) Hilary Swank does some of her bestacting , as usual, but most of the other cast are great as well. It'sgood that they are unknowns, because it makes you feel like they arereal and not just acting. When I went to see this, I thought ofDangerous Minds, The Principal, Lean on Me, and Stand and Deliver. Ithink this is a little better than all of those, though those are goodmovies (Dangerous Minds was a little weak, though.) This movie takesplace between 1994 and 1996 in Long Beach, CA, so you have to keep thatin mind. The music does a good job of placing the time period, and allthe songs are classics. This movie probably won't do well at the boxoffice, but good movies never do so what can you do? Oh well. At leastit will become required viewing for high school students in the future.; )

2012-05-17 15:33:38

Rating on Movie

This movie was awesome. It teaches the kids to learn to respect and help one another. A struggle for a teacher as well as her students. There are still people out there that want to help people achieve their potential.

2012-05-16 20:42:28

Inspiring

I originally saw this movie at the theater, where AMC was letting educators in for free. I had to own it, though, because it is so inspiring. I teach young children in an urban school district, and there are days when my profession seems so restrictive-and prescriptive-that all the creativity has gone out of it. Freedon Writers lifts my spirits and encourages me to go on.Hilary Swank is establishing herself as one of those actors who can believably be anything on-screen.

andydreamseeker 2012-05-16 17:07:26

Movie Review: Freedom Writers

Freedom Writers appears to have a typical script. An aspiring youngteacher goes out of her way to help and inspire her lowly students. Aplot like this can make an inspiring movie. Now add this, FreedomWriters is based on a true story. This gives proximity. It could be anice movie. Now put Hilary Swank as the lead in the film. This moviecould be good with the two-time Academy Award winner starring in it.But in reality you still may not want to watch this movie.I found myself walking into the cinema knowing only 3 things aboutFreedom Writers: 1. Freedom Writers is the title of the film. 2. Theplot is based on a true story. 3. Hilary Swank.Why then watch it?I was intrigued by the film title. I wanted to know what happened tothe students and how the teacher helped them. I knew that the studentswrote journals. I knew that by writing about our feelings and thoughtsit helps in the discovery and development of finding and affirmingone's self-worth. Writing is a good outlet for your inner voice to beheard and it needs to be expressed. Writing releases us from theemotional walls that block us in. We felt trapped, stressed andhelpless. This usually leads to outwardly negative behaviours. Thestudents in the film showed these effects.I was looking for inspiration. I got more than inspiration. I got hope.Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) provided it. When no one cared for thestudents, she dared. She refused to believe her students were"unteachable" as branded by other teachers and the academic system. Tobegin with, the students did not even want to be helped. But with highmoral integrity she showed the highest esteem a human being could get,and yet in her humble words she only wanted to do her job."To get respect you first have to give respect." It cannot be truer.Erin Gruwell respected every student in his or her own right. She madeit a point to understand and not judge, to look under the surface.The synopsis hardly gives this movie enough credit. Get this. This is atrue story. The influence should be greater. This is the real deal.Someone in our society made a difference.After watching it, I had this thought: "Why hadn't more been done topromote this film?" I mean this is a film I felt everyone should see. Iunderstand that this film may not have the commercial value of moviesthat can be more entertaining in the sense that it is not comedic, itis not thrilling, there are no hard hitting action, there are noadventure to be told, there are no mystery to be solved, and it may noteven be the most touching movie ever made, but it is a powerful filmwith a strong message that can be applied to every individual andcommunity.It is powerful because like the students in the film, we had or couldhave met the same situations in life. Put it simply, we were once orcould be teenagers and students, we have different family backgrounds,we go through the similar process of growing up, should you dig deeperinto your past and more of these relations should appear. There is abig lesson here to be learned for if we think our problems are big, weprobably are not aware of the larger world around us. If we hate or arecritical of others it's probably because we do not understand what isreally happening. It is all too easy to categorize and stereotypeothers. When we see one monkey we had seen them all we tell ourselves.But we are not monkeys, we are people, no doubt our diversity inlanguage, culture and skin tone, we are people nonetheless. We do notrecognize that we have much in common and we do not give respect enoughto each other.We fill the world with images of war, violence and hate. Why? Is thisthe right thing to do? If that is all the young ones get exposed tothen these will be what we will get. What values are we imparting tothe world? We couldn't care less could we?I like the way director Richard LaGravenese detailed the scene in thebeginning of the film where the two senior teachers paid attention toErin Gruwell's pearl necklace when first introduced to her. I'm quitesure the intention was to reflect how most of us view the world aroundus. I leave you to figure it out.Lastly, Freedom Writers say you can make a difference. I say you canstart by watching this film.

JohnRouseMerriottChard 2012-05-15 17:45:59

The Diary of Anne Frank and the class of room 203.

The Diary of Anne Frank and the class of room 203.Freedom Writers is written and directed by Richard LaGravenese, whoadapts from the Freedom Writers Diary written by Erin Gruwell and herclass of students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long BeachCalifornia. It stars Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, ImeldaStaunton, Jason Finn and Kristin Herrera.Swank plays Erin Gruwell, an inspirational teacher type who aftertaking up the teaching position at Woodrow Wilson finds her classroomis a hotbed of ill education and racial disharmony. With little supportcoming from her superiors and within her own marriage, Gruwell took anovel approach to the task in hand to make a real life difference toher students.There's been plenty of similar films of this ilk over the years, fromway back with The Blackboard Jungle, up to Coach Carter, and stoppingbriefly for tea, cake and violence with The Principal and DangerousMinds. Each follows a well worn path of a teacher rising to thechallenge of making their respective students better people, even whenthe odds are stacked against them achieving positive results. FreedomWriters has a real life story in its favour, while the blending ofOscar winner Swank with non professional actors playing the students,really works well and gives the picture an earthy and grounded texture.True, it's full of clichés (racial stereotypes, troubled familybackgrounds, dragonian principal), and you sense that even with anextended running time of two hours that we aren't quite getting thefull story. Rendering the big class turnaround as seeming contrived.But this is a true uplifting film that's packed with poignant momentssuch as the impact of the Holocaust teachings on the class, with thesepassages neatly flecked with sequences involving the violence anddangers that the students face in their everyday lives.If you can get past those formulaic clichés? Then it becomes a filmthat's desperately hard to dislike. Besides, committed teachers such asErin Gruwell are to be treasured, their importance never to beunderstated. This, in spite of some rough edges, is a fitting tributeto one teacher and a class who managed to overcome major obstacles.8/10

2012-05-14 19:10:42

Sweet and wholesome yet the same basic inspirational story retold with different faces...

`Freedom Writers' is not the best teacher student film out there by any means, but it is effective and it is enjoyable in its own rights. The true story of Erin Gruwell and the effect she had on her students is an uplifting on at that and I guess is one that deserved to be told. The problem with stories like this is that, while its truth based, is so generic that it really adds nothing new. The teacher is an angel sent from heaven to help her unruly class learn for themselves that they are worth more than what they make of themselves. She's littered with the bad kids, the dope peddling, gang members of society and she meets adversity from everyone around her so in the end she has to do just as much fighting and pulling as her students to in order to make a difference. If it sounds familiar that's because just about every teacher student film made these days has the same scenario. I know that you can't really do too much to change things when the film is based on a true life account, but it would be nice if they could find a true life account that plays a little more controversially.So, the story follows Erin Gruwell, a young a naïve teacher who chooses her school because of the new integration program and arrives ready to change the world. The rest of the teacher staff is less than optimistic, maybe even les than pessimistic, and soon begin to resent Gruwell and her cheery disposition. Gruwell herself soon finds that her classroom is more like a war zone with Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian's segregating themselves and the one White boy about ready to pee his pants in fear stuck in the middle. All the classic stereotypes are there (but are they really stereotypes if they're true?) for both the students and the teacher. Each race hates the other and it's up to Gruwell to separate the boundaries of hate by identifying the root problem. Gruwell tries being their friend, but that fails to work, and then finally she gets a little tough, and there's a breakthrough. Without any support from her peers or even her family she has to take on side jobs in order to buy her class books for their curriculum, but it's her dire dedication and genuine concern for them that helps make that difference she so desperately wanted to see. The film does a good job of showing the adverse effects of jealousy. You can see as Gruwell's marriage deteriorates the main reason stems from her husbands overall jealously of his wife's success, something he can't take. He longed to be an architect but allowed himself to get overwhelmed and ultimately complacent to the point that he resents his own aspirations and resents the fact that his wife dreamed of being a teacher and more so dreamed of making a difference and was, in effect, accomplishing both. Gruwell's fellow teachers also show jealousy in there resentment of her teaching methods, realizing that they never lacked the skill to reach these students and are infuriated that a younger less experienced teacher finally has. In that respect the film does a great job of fleshing out those feelings. As far as the acting is concerned, the only real standout to me was Imelda Staunton who just sizzles as Gruwell's main adversary. Swank does a decent job, but she's an actress who tends to baffle me. When I watch her perform in her two Oscar winning performances, `Boys Don't Cry' especially, I'm blown away. She fails to give me that same feeling in anything else though. It's not to say she's not a good actress, it's just that when you deliver two iconic performances you need to be able to at least wow us in your other work. Other than those two films she has yet to really show me brilliance. It's almost as if those two performances were flukes, given by some other actress inhibiting Swanks body. Dempsey is a dud, and it doesn't help that he's far, very far, from likable here. For the most part young actors are right on the line, some very amateur while some show promise. April L. Hernandez is the apparent standout basically because she's given the most screen time and is fleshed out much better than the rest of the class, but her performance teeters right about average.So in the end it's a film that is pleasing and enjoyable but really nothing new. It won't entirely disappoint, but then again I don't think anyone was really expecting a whole lot in the first place. It's far from the best teacher student film, but it's also a far cry from the worst. It will make you smile and in some parts maybe even make you cry (I found myself tearing up a bit, but I'm emotional like that) and in the end will make you wonder why you never had a teacher this godlike.

Rick Groen 2012-05-14 06:10:02

Freedom Writers is a tribute to individualism wrapped in the most conformist of packages, one of those pictures where the message of the tale is flatly contradicted by the manner of the telling.