Product Description: "Freedom Writers" is inspired by a true story and the diaries of real Long Beach teenagers after the LA riots during the worst outbreak of interracial gang warfare.Hilary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell whose passion to become a teacher is soon challenged by a group of Black Latino and Asian gangbangers who hate her even more than each other. When Erin begins to listen to them in a way no adult has ever done she begins to understand that for these kids getting through the day alive is enough -- they are not delinquents but teenagers fighting "a war of the streets" that began long before they were born.Erin gives them something they never had from a teacher before -- respect. For the first time these teens experience a hope that maybe they might show the world that their lives matter and they have something to say.Run Time: 122 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG - 13 UPC: 097361243917 Manufacturer No: 124391
Amazon.com: Though the "inspirational teacher" theme may feel done to death, Freedom Writers succeeds because it emphasizes the students as much as the teacher. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don't Cry) comes to a southern California high school bubbling over with naive optimism, but quickly discovers that her unruly classroom isn't easily won over by her good intentions. After a few floundering attempts to connect with her students, Gruwell gives them the assignment of keeping journals about their own lives--an assignment that the class bites into with relish, which eventually bonds them together and pushes racial rivalries aside. This plotline has been made before, sometimes well, sometimes poorly; Freedom Writers, by drawing heavily from the published journals of the students--and thanks to a (mostly) unheroic script, direction that emphasizes individual characters over stereotypes, and rigorous performances from the whole cast--makes the story seem fresh and genuine. Swank does solid work, but the standouts are April L. Hernandez as a girl whose gang wants her to lie and send an innocent boy to jail and Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) as a teacher who resents Gruwell's offbeat success. Also featuring Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff), and a plethora of strong young actors. --Bret Fetzer
It's a Movie about Writing, Badly Written Leaving no cliche unturned, Freedom Writers is another in a long line of "uplifting" movies about inner city school kids moved to greatness by a struggling, selfless rookie teacher. I'm sure the true story upon which this disaster was based was indeed inspiring, but this movie was realized in such a leaden, ham-fisted and amateurish fashion, it took all of the self-discipline I could muster to keep watching through to the end. Barely literate high-school students, suddenly handed empty journal books, magically transform into brilliant writers. Character development, especially that of the school's faculty and administrators is limited to minimal cardboard stereotypes. Baffling subplots serve to make the film seem even more intolerably lengthy. Hillary Swank looks great, though.
If you want to see a story about inner city education brilliantly and honestly portrayed, check out season 4 of HBO's "The Wire".
where's patrick demsey? a good classroom movie all in all and inspirational, of course. But why have Patrick Dempsey (one of my fav actors)in the movie if he's not going to do anything? The movie carts him off after a separation scene at the breakfast table. We are given no explanation whatsoever why swank and dempsey need a separation from their marriage. Instead of involving Dempsey in her project somehow, he's erased from the plot....waste of a good actor in my opinion.
Stellar Movie In This Type of Drama Genre There are a lot of movies out there on the market that deal with the same or similar type of theme/genre as presented in "Freedom Writers" (i.e. "Dangerous Minds", "The Ron Clark Story", "Music of the Heart", etc.)....
However, "Freedom Writers" is one of the best I have seen so far in this type of genre. The acting by all cast members is fabulous, the storyline & the way in which the material is presented is extremely well done by the screenwriter(s), director, cinematography and so on.
"Freedom Writers" is a very inspiring story based on the real life teacher Erin Gruwell, whom rises to the challenge in making a difference in the lives of her students. When Erin Gruewell comes along as a rookie teacher fresh out of college, she ends up making a real connection with her students and gets them interested in learning. Hence, the students are now interested in learning because they can see they do have a future and so, they end up achieving better grades and overall test scores.
Education is a wonderful thing and it is wonderful to know there are many outstanding teachers in this world willing to go beyond the extra mile to teach future generations of young people.
Express yourself. Freedom Writers is a good teacher/student film but jeez don't all these inspirational films seem the same? Hilary Swank plays a very spunky and overally positive English teacher who wants to reach her wayward students through journal writing. Patrick Dempsey also stars as Swank's loving but impatient husband. Dempsey shows he's more than a pretty face, I have always thought he was a great actor. This film is somewhat sugary but it's based on a true story so expect some tears to flow. I highly recommend watching this diamond in the rough, enjoy!
Inspiring! Inspiring performances by the entire cast made this movie sparkle! I didn't know what to expect, frankly I had low hopes. But I love Hilary Swank and it sounded like it could be a different movie, not the same old same old. I loved it! Everyone shone. Very compelling tale. Well done.
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