Movie Review: Freedom Writers
Rated by 7 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that, thanks to its hip-hop soundtrack
and rebellious teen characters, this drama about high school
students will appeal to many kids. It deals with some mature
themes -- gang violence, loss of a friend or family member, the
Holocaust -- in tasteful, if formulaic, ways. Violent scenes
include fighting on campus and a street shooting (a boy is
killed, his bloody chest visible). Kids argue with each other
and their teacher, disrespecting her verbally and laughing at
her. Students discuss the Holocaust, Anne Frank, and meet a
survivor who describes her ordeal. Students write about their
losses in their journals, which the teacher reads out loud or
in voiceover (these are sad moments). Language includes several
uses of "s--t," "damn," and one use of the n-word in anger (the
context is a student journal description of police abuses).
Families can discuss the way that Erin engages her students -- by listening to them. How is this an effective way to teach? How do the students learn from one other when they share their stories? How is the Holocaust a helpful historical example for these "at-risk" students? What do they learn from Anne Frank's ability to see beauty in the world even in her bleak situation? How does Erin's dedication to her students affect her personal life? What other movies is this one similar to? What sets it apart?
Common Sense Media Review
The deeply earnest drama "Freedom Writers" follows a familiar
storyline. An idealistic young teacher inspires her "at-risk"
urban students to respect each other and themselves. She's
white, they're mostly of color; she's clueless about their
harsh lives, they initially resent her cluelessness but learn
to appreciate her efforts to understand them.
It's this last part that makes director Richard LaGravenese's film work, despite its many clichés. Erin Gruwell ( Hilary Swank) makes a difference by asking her students to talk to her and each other -- and acting on what they say.
Arriving at a high school in Long Beach just after the L.A. uprising in 1992, Erin is enthusiastic and innocent, asserting that "I'm a really good student." She wants to follow in her father Steve's (Scott Glenn) footsteps. A civil rights activist during the '60s, he once advocated for the Black Panthers' education and economic programs, but now worries that his daughter is teaching students who "don't want to learn" -- concern shared by Erin's husband, Scott ( Patrick Dempsey).
Erin's first few days at school are daunting: She witnesses a fight, sees a boy pull out a gun, and endures taunts from her students, who see themselves as their other teachers see them: the "ghetto-ass class" unworthy of attention or time. Erin is also discouraged by her cynical colleagues, especially department head Margaret Campbell ( Imelda Staunton), who goes so far as to suggest that Erin shouldn't provide the students with books because they'll only lose or damage them.
