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Freedom Writers
Upon initially hearing the premise of Freedom Writers, one might think it is simply another Hollywood attempt at telling the old story; white female teacher ventures into the inner city and saves lower class ethnic students from their surroundings by giving them solace in her classroom. This is a story that worked once before for Michelle Pfeiffer in the movie, Dangerous Minds.
If you’re determined that this is a movie too corny to be believed, you will likely be disappointed. Written and directed by Richard LaGravenese, with amazing performances by Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey as her husband, and a cast of exceptional actors in the student roles, perhaps the biggest pull here is the voice of the Freedom Writer’s themselves. Some of the aspects of this movie might seem over the top unbelievable, except that they occurred in real life.
The story is based on the book, “The Freedom Writer’s Diary” by the Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell, whom Swank plays in the film. The sheer fact that this teacher was able to publish a book of journal entries by her high school class smacks of disbelief, yet it is there; it happened. With evocative voice over use throughout the film, of the real students’ actual journal entries, the audience find themselves no longer discounting this tale as Hollywood hype; instead following these characters on a memorable journey. Gruwell takes on this class divided by gang violence and skin color, and introduces them to the holocaust, as depicted in Anne Frank’s diary, and great classic literature. She encourages them to write out their life, to keep journal entries telling their story at their time, without the need to worry over censoring or presenting a face; just their own story as they saw it.
Perhaps the most unbelievable aspect of the film occurs when Swank’s character achieves the near impossible; delivering to her students Miep Gies, Ann Frank’s real life friend and one of the main running characters throughout her diary, which the students have been reading. Pat Carroll plays the role of Ms. Gies, a stirring rendition for both the characters and the viewing audience. This is so outlandish as not to be believed, considering how many students take on the study of The Diary of Ann Frank annually. But it needs to be included here to show the true pull of Erin Gruwell’s character and determination and the ability she had to bridge the student’s reality with their possibilities.
Enough cannot be said about the voice of the real Freedom Writers and their addition to this film, through actual entries and the actor’s portrayal of them onscreen. At times poignant and sad, their real life turmoil, neighborhood, and the dangers of their day to day life are accurate to their reality at this point in their life. Swank’s portrayal is more than believable and her ability to interact with the younger co-stars, such as April Lee Hernandez, Deance Wyatt, and Mario, brings an admirable feel of reality to all of the performances involved.
If you were looking for a film to hate, this is not it. Surprisingly uplifting, the general feel is that if not for the memoir beginnings, if it had not been a true story first, much of this film would not have been put together as fiction for it would not be believed. But it did happen, and the effect to the students that experienced in and the viewing audience in general is powerful.
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