Freedom Writers

Review by Clint Morris

Admit it; has anyone come close to knocking To Sir with Love or Stand & Deliver off its perch? Nope, nobody has even come close to giving us a credible and unforgettable “teacher rehabilitates kids from wrong-side-of-the-tracks students” movie. Until now.

And it’s all thanks to you, Hilary.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks they say? Well, Freedom Writers embodies the hypothesis to demystify that claim, because its template is as old as the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and yet, it plays a fresh as anything I’ve seen in the past twelve months – not that that’s a huge proclamation – in theatres.

Freedom Writers is based on the true story of first year teacher Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank), and the struggles her high school class faces in everyday life in Long Beach, California, around the time of the LA riots (circa early 1990s).

Like the films that have come before it, Writers shows us a teacher whose able to get through to the troubled kids – in turn, pushing them to break away from gang life, making trouble on the streets, and giving them back some dignity.

A racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a Latina gang member in the new teacher’s class, and an an ugly racial cartoon that Erin intercepts during class, become the most unsuspectingly vibrant teaching aids. Later, knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Gruwell encourages them to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen.
In transforming her students, Gruwell also transforms her marriage – Patrick Dempsey plays her other half - into something near unliveable. For every thread she re-mends at the school, another stitch in her shaky marriage seems to come undone.

There’s one sole reason why Freedom Writers is in a different class to say, Dangerous Minds (1995) or Coach Carter (2005). Hilary Swank. The Oscar Winning actress is absolutely amazing in this. In every frame, you believe what comes out of her mouth; you believe she’s the one person to get through to the kids.

Speaking of, the kids are just as terrific as Swank. April Lee Hernandez, as April – a young woman who has witness’s gang violence from a young age and now finds it difficult to escape from that life – is the head of the class, literally. The young actress gives a high-calibre performance; one that exposes all the colours of a young woman who undergoes a radical transformation.

Writer/director Richard LaGravenese, best known for his screenwriting (The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County, The Horse Whisperer, Beloved) has penned one of the finest pieces of writing to grace a WGA registration page in eons. It’s tight, it’s effective, it’s immersed with ‘real’ characters and most of all, it’s a piece that doesn’t need to overtly ‘push’ buttons to get you to react – because you’re already there.

Freedom Writers is a film that definitely deserved more than being released in a month that’s commonly known as ‘the dumping ground’ for movies. Truly, one of the best films you’ll see this year.

4 out of 5

Freedom Writers
Australian release: 22nd March, 2007
Cast: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Imelda Staunton, Scott Glenn, April Lee Hernandez
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Website: Click here.