Erin Gruwell was thrown into the lion's den in her first year of teaching. In the early 1990s, Woodrow Wilson High School was engulfed in racial tension, echoing the nation at the time of the Rodney King beatings and L.A. riots. Despite her environment and a near fatal case of naivet, Gruewell managed to make an important connection with her students and help them learn, not only about reading and writing, but about history and the world around them and, most importantly, about tolerance. The journals and diaries Gruwell had her students keep were eventually published as The Freedom Writers Diary, the basis for Freedom Writers the movie.
As Gruwell, Hilary Swank does an excellent job of portraying that first year teacher - so full of optimism and hope (I say this as someone about to enter that myself). Gruwell wears pearls her father gave her when the other teachers have no adornments. She dreams of teaching Homer's "The Odyssey" to students on personal journeys with goals of just surviving the day. Yet Swank carries the character with an uncomfortable confidence - someone who knows they can be a good teacher, but is suddenly being faced with things teacher preparation programs didn't prepare her for. Even as reality sets in, however, Gruwell doesn't lose her cool, which, albeit inspiring, almost creates a caricature of the real person. It's hard to believe the real Gruwell never broke down or never had a moment of doubt the way Swank plays it.
Opposing Gruwell outside of the classroom are the typical clichd obstacles: the unsupportive administration, the family who doesn't understand, etc. In fact, in lesser hands these roles might be trite, cookie-cutter borrowings from other stories. Instead each of these positions is handled quite well despite a rather flat script. Imelda Staunton shows as much passion for teaching as Gruwell's supervisor as the protagonist herself does. She just doesn't use the same methods to try and reach the students. Patrick Dempsey plays the dejected, unsupportive husband with such believability that it makes me want to blacklist every other role Dempsey has ever played to rid myself of the prick. The roles are flat stereotypes, but the acting brings them alive.
The movie spends a tremendous amount of time on Gruwell's story for a film advertised as "Their story. Their words." The true story here should be that of the kids who wrote the Freedom Writer diaries: how they survived growing up in their environment; how an extraordinary teacher affected them. Instead, Gruwell is the central character of the movie, with one or two of the characters as secondary stories. Personally, I think the picture could have been more effective as an ensemble piece, truly telling "their stories" and showing how Gruwell inspired them through that - a sort of urban Dead Poet's Society if you will.
There's no arguing that Freedom Writers is an inspirational story. The film gives teachers yet another role model to look up to and strive to be. It also shows the downside of being the devoted teacher Gruwell was: divorce, administrative battles, etc. Perhaps by centering the movie around the teacher instead of the students, Freedom Writers dodges the bullet of portraying teaching as a completely idyllic occupation. Yes, teachers can make a difference, but the costs can be equally high. If Swank's portrayal of the character carried a little more realistic reaction to these events, the movie might be a perfect window into teaching. Instead, the movie feels like the stuff of legends. Any teacher can affect students if they are noble enough to make the proper sacrifices and never look back. |
Freedom Writers - DVD Review
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