Freedom Writers (2007)

Boring

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

If there's anything about Hilary Swank movies, it's that they involve a major social issue. In her leading role in "Freedom Writers" we see her portray the real life teacher who pushed her high school students to achieve wellness both emotionally and academically. Her students surrounded by drugs, violence and other bad influences, Swank's character, Erin Gruwell, pushes her students beyond belief and struggles to maintain a healthy marriage. The heavily inspired Richard LaGravenese directs and writes this feel- good, stand up and cheer type of film. LaGravenese fails to expose the true hardship of what inner-city students face each day. He focuses too much on the relationships between Gruwell, which, admittedly, he does handle well. It's just that he puts too much emphasis on the student-teacher relationships, failing to dig deep into the feelings of the students, or the hard lives they face. On the other hand, we get immersed into a political scandal that leads to a feel-good end that many younger viewers with compassion can relate too. The maturity level of "Freedom Writers" gets a little to PG-13, leaving out gritty and powerful details that are vital for carrying out a motivational true story influenced by harrowing courage and struggle. If only some power infiltrated this potential excellent film, "Freedom Writers" would be nothing short of magnificent. But I'm forced to give it a "B" rating due to the lack of detail and the misuse of emotional content. Not to mention it gets sappier than a soap opera. Don't let the flaws prevent you from viewing a good film though. You'll learn something!

I remember watching Freedom Writers in school, so you can understand what I mean already by more gloss than grit. To a younger audience, the film's detailing of racial tension in Long Beach, USA is really quite hard-hitting, but to a cinephile like myself and anyone else who's seen films like American History X and how powerful they can be. Freedom Writers is a far more watered down account of racism and gang warfare, even sometimes stooping to "Step Up" levels of bittersweetness. I've still given it a 7 out of 10 because whilst I feel it is inaccurate, the film was thoroughly enjoyable because of its young cast of talented unknowns and an extremely good performance from Hilary Swank with an insightful script to work with. Note the discussion of the Holocaust as one of the best scenes.

Watching Richard LaGravenese's Biographical film Freedom Writers gives an important message of camaraderie, social justice, and racial tolerance. Academy Award winning Hilary Swank plays as Mrs. Erin Gruwell, a young teacher who strives to inspire her students to learn tolerance and succeed in finishing high school. The movie takes place in Long Beach, California in 1994 where an integration program was created giving student minorities around the area for a better high school education with higher qualifying teachers than other areas would provide.The integration program has stirred the dynamics in Woodrow Wilson High School leaving teachers petrified of their lives and students fighting for their own. A community filled with hatred towards other ethnicities only to protect their "own kind," comes together in one class room inspired by a teacher who willingly listen to their stories. The students of Woodrow Wilson High School are in a never ending war, living day by day, not knowing what the future holds for them. Teacher Erin Gruwell (Hillary Swank) enlightens her students with history that relates to their stories. Teaching them the story of the Holocaust and how many lives were taken due to racial intolerance. As an assignment, the students had to write in their journals and express their story, why they live the way they live and why they make certain decisions Erin Gruwell emphasizes in order to receive respect, you got to give respect. In the lives of her students, all they want is respect from society. By being the alpha female or male of their clan by gaining control and power of the community, they believe they will gain respect. Through this they beat up recruits for gang crews, kill other people that is not their race, and create riots in campuses. Erin Gruwell herself goes through her own struggles when it comes to monetary issues while passionately working in a field that requires a lot to keep the interest of her students. Erin and her students go through an enlightening journey of learning from each other on racial tolerance, education, and respect. Hillary Swank in the role of Erin Gruwell acted very well in a way where people can really absorb the things she says as she teaches her students. Her words of wisdom that really touch the hearts of these kids helped them not only stay away from trouble on the streets but also giving themselves the respect to continue on with high school. These students have a purpose to go to school because none of the other teacher cared to pay attention to their stories or the wars they fight every day. What's very interesting in this movie, is the gender roles. The girls in this film are portrayed very strong in which they must protect their own, while the guys are all trying to avoid being caught up in a situation that would lead them to jail or death. One of the guys is homeless and after learning the importance of family and school, he decides to swallow his pride and come back home to his mother. My overall reaction of the film was 9 out of 10 because it was well developed and kept the stories realistic. For most people, they expect a happy ending for all these students, however, life does not really work that way. Many people take different paths. Some may make good decisions, others may make bad decisions. The shots were really good in following the tension between different racial groups knowing the segregation in Woodrow Wilson High School. I recommend this film to everyone, although most people can't relate to how these students live their lives, I believe everyone has their own battle and struggle in life. Overall, this was a great film that showed great strength from a female perspective (especially from the protagonist, Erin Gruwell) and educating on how these students fought their wars in life and will continue to fight until they obtain their highest achievement.

This film is absolutely great, it's such a moving film that truly touches your heart. The fact that it's also a true story makes it even better. It certainly puts things into perspective as to how some people have to live their day to day lives. I love films like this because they make me realise how lucky I am to be where I am. Hilary Swank definitely played her part well and done the film justice. This is also the first film in a while that touched me emotionally, so girls you made need a few tissues at the ready if you are anything like me. I am really looking forward to reading the book now, and would definitely watch this again. A well deserved 10/10 from me!