Freedom Writers

For most of us there is a teacher who enters our lives and helps to guide us. They go beyond just teaching the syllabus that the school board requires but take the time to help us to understand something much deeper. These teachers are there at a critical moment in out lives and give us the guidance that literally lasts a life time. Films about influential teachers have been a main stay in Hollywood for main years now. Movies like ‘Dangerous Minds’ or ‘Stand By Me’ are just two such films and now another is added, ‘Freedom Writers’. Based on the real life diaries of California teacher, Erin Gruwell and her students, this film written and directed by Richard LaGravenese is sure to tug the old heart strings and make you remember that special teacher in your own life. Sure it is sappy at times, overly sentimental with a distinctive liberal slant but it ultimately works as entertainment. As to the question of will it inspire, yes it has a message and since it is based on a true story we are supposed to be emotionally touched by it. Even though it is a solid film with a splendid cast and extremely good direction there are parts that seem to come right from a Lifetime movie of the week.

Los Angles in1992 was not a very peaceful place to grow up. In the wake of the racially charged, post Rodney King riots the youths of the areas gravitated even more than usual into gangs. Violence in schools and in the streets was reaching an all time high. The aftermath of this turbulence was not the best time for a white teacher to take on a class already divided along racial, gang lines. This was the environment that new school teacher, Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) walked into. She was assigned to teach a freshman English high school class in the volatile Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California. Her classroom looked more like a police anti-gang task force round up than a home room. At twenty three years of age Gruwell is barely a decade older than her students but the gap between them was vast. For her students she represented the oppressive white establishment. It has been only two years since the King riots and racially biased crimes is rising fast. When Gruwell steps into the classroom with her pearls, red suit and she is hardly a person her class can relate to. Still, she sees this classroom as a place and chance to make a real difference. In one of her first lessons Gruwell compares caricatures of African-Americans with grossly exaggerated facial features with those drawn by Nazis targeting the Jews. Trying to bring the point home to her students she takes them on a field trip to the Simon Wiesenthal Center to show them that racism isn’t something unique to them or their people. Slowly the dedicated teacher manages to get through to her students. Gruwell goes so far as to take on two additional part time jobs in order to purchase school supplies for the class. The school distinct has all but written off these kids and deems them unworthy of the added expense of books and field trips. Her department head, Margaret Campbell (Imelda Staunton) and honors teacher, Brian Gelford (John Benjamin Hickey), caution Gruwell about becoming involved with students that would rather kill her than think and learn. All that time away from her home has its toll. She becomes increasingly distant from her husband, Scott (Patrick Dempsey) who ultimately divorces her. Gruwell remains undaunted as she works even harder to get something for her students to latch on to. She finds it with "The Diary of Anne Frank", a story that the students are able to relate to. They feel that they are in hiding from an oppressive establishment, afraid for their own lives. Gruwell finally passes out books for her students to use as journals, giving them the freedom of unrestricted expression. It was these journals that made up the book on which this film was based.

Richard LaGravenese is a well established script writer with such credits as ‘the Fisher King’ and ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ on his resume. With this background he is able to get to the heart of the matter. He does go off the beam a bit with her personal problems with her husband. While this sub plot is important to the development it is handled in an almost soap opera manner. What shines here is the interaction of students and teacher. The walls between then do not go down with ease. The students certainly do not encourage Gruwell, they do everything possible to initially disrespect her. The use of the holocaust to demonstrate to her students that others have suffered far worse then they have endured helps to widen the world view of the teens. LaGravenese paces the film well overall although there are some moments that might have been served with some editing.

Hilary Swank is fantastic in her role here. She is feminine here but far from soft. For a pretty, young teacher to stand in front of a class has to be frightening but what Swank shows is Gruwell’s commitment was able to get her through all obstacles place in her path. Unlike many movies of this genre she doesn’t let the students forget she is the teacher. When the class wants to write Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank, she reminds the class that spelling, grammar and punctuation counts and they should expect to write several drafts. Swank takes her character on an emotional arc from a young woman, naïve and enthusiastic to one who can sit and listen to kids from the ghetto. She does go over the top in a few places but that is forgivable considering the rest of her performance. Among the actors playing the students there is some real talent going on. Eva, portrayed by April Lee Hernandez offers a retrospective commentary that holds the film together. She has empathy that pulls in the audience and holds them. Jason Finn plays Marcus, a student who tells Gruwell that there is a war going on. The various gangs in the class are natural enemies and all that mattes is to die with respect. His character arc is finding out just what respect actually entails. Patrick Dempsey may now be best know as Doctor McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy but here he does very well with the role given to him. Even though his character divorced his wife for her dedication his talents permits the audience to understand why he came to such a decision.

Paramount does an excellent job in releasing this film to DVD. There are both Pan & Scan and widescreen versions but as always, go for the widescreen version. That one has an anamorphic, 1.85:1 video that gives true a true to life color balance and flawless transfer. The Dolby 5.1 audio is well designed and booms out around the room. The extras presented here also demonstrate considerable thought by the studio. They expand upon the message of the film nicely. ‘Making a Dream’ show the commitment that the cast and crew had to bringing this story to the screen. Then there is ‘Freedom Writer’s Family’ that looks at the way the kids came together. The best is a documentary, ‘Freedom Writers: The Story Behind the Story’ that gives insight into the way writing journals gave these kids a new look at life. This is a very good story that is superbly cast and enjoyable for the whole family.

Posted 03/27/07