Film Review: Freedom Writer

By Chandler Chan陳舒揚 英語2班 122214101202

Like every time I wrote a movie review, before jumping into the details of the film, I would like to go through its cast members first. Hilary Swank is the leading role of this film, I do not know much about her, but I am informed that she is a two-time Oscar winner. The last time I saw her was being a cameo in New Year’s Eve. Very ashamed to say that compared with other stars in that film, I just judged her as not pretty enough at that time. But having seen this film, I am highly impressed by her performance. Her acting is very professional and believable. Imelda Staunton, who is often remembered as the most hated role Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films, always plays those annoying middle-aged ladies, which can be also seen in Romeo + Juliet, Sense and Sensibility, Shakespeare in Love and The Girl in my watchlist. In Freedom Writer, again, she shoulders the major and typical 「bad guy」 Margaret Campbell, the only difference from pervious bothersome ones I can tell is perhaps that she speak American accent this time. Erin’s husband is played by the good-looking Patrick Dempsey, I saw him in Enchanted and Valentine’s Day, the handsome husband or father most of time. All three of them gave tremendous acting in the Freedom Writer. I wasn』t paying attention to any shortcoming of the film, because I was so engrossed to the amazing Swank. Imelda Staunton in Dr .John’s office and Patrick Dempsey deciding to leave both nearly moved me to tears, very impressive and touching.

As someone who has already been determined to become a teacher one day, and dedicated to the teaching career probably the whole life, I showed my great enthusiasm to the films about teachers. I have seen several good teachers』 films, like Front of the Class, Never give up, because nothing can beat love; Dead Poets Society, Oh captain, my captain; and The History Boy , I can still clearly recall Hector saying, pass it on, pass it on. And this particular film immediately reminds me of The Ron Clark Story with one of my favorite actor Matthew Perry, both are talking about a newcome teacher changing greatly his or her students, who are normally considered hopeless and incurable. And most importantly, these two films are based on true stories, and real prototypes do exist around us. What is the ultimate duty of a teacher？Make a difference, and make it counts, to the students you educated. That’s how I value this position, and also what Erin Gruwell has been doing in every single day of her teaching life. The film is talking about how Erin made a class of so called 「helpless」 students find their life back to the way that they are supposed to walk on.
    
At the beginning of the film, Eva declared it’s a war, many of her classmates mentioned that as well. In a certain degree, I agree with her. Different groups of different races ,or backgrounds ,or interests eventually are fighting all the time with each other in our real world, just like what happened in that school, people in the same group gather together to gain the biggest benefits for themselves, and reduce as much as benefits of others by all means. But at the other hand, though the violence among gangsters within school is undoubtedly appalling, it cannot be counted as a war. They are only teenagers, and they thought what they were doing was something marvelous and hugely worthwhile. In fact, as what Erin has been skillfully and subtly proved, it was simply a piece of pointless doodles crap. She compared the inner school gang fights with the holocaust, which involves countries and countries causing millions of people to die. But to her and absolutely my surprises, they didn』t even know the holocaust. Therefore, at that moment, she finally perceived that the most urgent need is to let them start to actually learn something.
   
Also from that moment, Erin discovered there were some commons in her students. No matter what races they are, they share the same identity, namely, the minority. They all hate white people, they all receive unequal treatments, and more importantly, they are all suffering. She made a little game called Line Game, which let them realize they were, as a matter of fact, all in a same one group. So the first step above is to convince them into a same side, and secondly, to set the same enemy in front of them, not each other, not the white people, but the persons they used to be, by allowing them truly know about the holocaust and feel respected through the tour. At last, she set an example for them to empathize and model after, Anna Frank, and even successfully invite the woman who helped the Franks into the classroom. The woman gave an anti-heroes speech to those students by showing them what the true hero is. Through all of these, it gradually comes to the young that wining the gang war is not an hero, the hero wins the war between him and himself, and just do what he has to do, because it is the right thing to do. That is exactly where the purpose of education lies in, isn』t it? to teach students to distinguish right from wrong, and stick to it to make a better person. So we can find that when Eva was about to give her testimony, she spoke the truth. Because from the class family she learned that every one is in the misery, having his own family, and deserve to be treated right and equally, whatever one’s race or group is. There should not be gangs, and even if there is a gang, everyone is the gang member of it. Seeing them transferred so much, hugging and dancing together now, Even Eva and the Asian girl, who personally witnessed Eva’s friend shot hers, I was deeply touched, and sincerely admired what Erin had done as a qualified teacher and strong woman.

Speaking of such a strong female Erin Gruwell is, apart from how Erin taught their students step by step, we may move to her personal life, two vital relationships with her father and husband. The father used to be an enthusiastic Civil Rights campaigner. What made him so indifferent to what her daughter had been trying to do, which is exactly included by the Civil Rights movement? And I dare say, His influence to Erin from a very young age must be part of, or probably the most of the reason why she became so dedicated to or even obsessed with bring those students equal rights. Near the end of film, this father told the exhausted Erin that he envied her, and how many fathers could have the chance to say that. Not only because he felt so proud of her that merely taking pride in her seemed not enough , but also because his daughter had done something that he himself might never be able to do in his life, his beloved daughter literally surpassed him, and made herself an excellent successor to what he belongs to, isn』t that every parents』 biggest dream?

But how did he loss his passion and faith, I am afraid to judge that the society ought to be blamed mostly. Growing up and being mature can be considered purely as a process of learning to compromise and adapt, a process of de-romanticizing. How we viewed the world before endangered great collapses with what you later saw in the real world, people may feel like being disserted, by themselves, and betrayed by their parents and schools. The delicate bubbles we had been carefully building since we were little kids could be cruelly and completely destroyed only in one night. Most people thought they were young, they didn』t have to give in to the reality so soon, but when one day they found that time had rubbed down their ambitions, age had corrupted their personalities, it was finally realized that they started to miss the person who they were at the very beginning. Essentially speaking, we are not living in the world that has been destroyed, but distorted. When you standing in front of me, looking at me, can you feel the sadness in my heart, and can you feel the sadness in your heart? We are silent. Not because we don』t have anything to say, nor we cannot say them, we just don』t where to start? Probably, we are not waiting for some one or some event, but the time, waiting for the time to bring us changes, to give us answers. However, as what Tagore once wrote we read the world wrong and say that it deceives us. Fortunately, the life-long achievement obtained by Erin strongly proves that one’s ideal would not be necessarily doomed in the end. If you really devoted yourself to it, you could and would reach that final point you』ve always desired. I think that is one of the bright sides that the film is meaning to deliver.
    
Sadly, when someone really devoted himself to a certain career, that person might not be capable of sparing time with other items in individual’s life. That is the exact same consequence happened to Erin. The husband left her. To some extent, I do understand this poor man, who cannot even spend time with his wife. But mostly, I look down upon him, he does not appreciate the true meaning of being supportive, it’s not just speaking few words on his wife’s side on the table with father-in-law, but truly helping her get over any obstacles side by side, hand in hand. Not having enough sex time, seems to me, constitutes mainly the reason why he abandoned the woman he claimed to be in love with. If you like a person, naturally, you would be of great desire to occupy and get hold of him or her. But if you love a person, actually, you would be willing to witness this person to be who he or she really wants to be, and happy about your love being truly happy, the people who like you want your present, the people who love you want your future. That’s how like and love to be distinguished, and how true love to be properly defined. Therefore, I would say Erin’s husband does sincerely love her, but just like her. And she do not need to be so upset about the divorce, because she has received so much true love from others, from his father, from her students and students, and from all the kindness of the society.

Finally, Freedom Writer is a very enjoyable film, with outstanding casts and an impressive story. Having a teacher like Erin Gruwell is a great fortune. She sets a model for the followers to look up, she encourages teachers to realize their duty, and she also encourages everyone to pursuit their dreams, that is what the hero is, the hero from the ordinary, and of the ordinary. Being an great English has always been my dream, so I desire to talk a little bit about myself at the end of this film review. On that job, I might be able to realize my full potential because that’s where my interest lies on. Do what I like, like what I do. I believe, driven by the interest, I can be fully devoted to my work and really make some difference. I am not expecting that I can be a teacher like Erin in this film , but I will do my beat and see what will happen. And most of my teachers, who totally proves the saying that a good teacher explain a good teacher inspire, encourage me to show my initiative rather than simply cram knowledge into my brain. Sometimes they can be a little bit exam-oriented, but performances in the final examination do need to put much stress on after all.



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