Freedom Writers
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 Starring Oscar® winning actress Hilary Swank, Freedom Writers tells the story of a teacher who inspires a group of inner-city children who are without hope to respect one another and escape the ghetto. A film with heart, Freedom Writers was nominated for an Oscar® at this year’s Academy Awards®.
OK. I admit that every month we seem to see the release of another ‘mentor’ type movie where a teacher / mentor / coach / prison guard comes along and convinces a group of hopeless, horrible, children (but with potential), to turn their backs on their wasted lives of crime in order to respect one another and play a positive role in society. Last month there was Gridiron Gang (not too bad, read our review here); this month marks the release of Freedom Writers. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting much from this but ended up being pleasantly surprised. Double Oscar® winner Hillary Swank plays real life teacher Erin Grewell, on whose life story this film is based. Grewell took a job at the tough Long Beach High School against her husband and father’s wishes; a school where the pupils are divided among ethnic lines and care more about the situation in the neighbourhood than what they learn at school. Initially teaching them as she would in any other classroom, Grewell initially finds it hard to relate to the youngsters – with them finding it hard to see the relevance of ancient literature and poetry in their every day lives. But through sheer perseverance and a change of tact (which I won’t disclose here); Grewell eventually gets through to her teenage charges and starts to make a difference. The result is a transformation of the pupils in the school and the reality of the neighbourhood. Now, you are right in thinking that this sounds like the plot of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Dangerous Minds and that this story has been done before. What makes this film different to other incarnations is that it takes this well known story in a completely new and unexpected direction. I can’t disclose this direction here without ruining the film, however suffice to say that this makes this a much more worthwhile experience. But what really makes this film stand out from the crowd is the strength and honesty of Hillary Swank’s performance. Swank is able to connect with the audience and quickly, you will find yourself cheering for our committed teacher, not willing to quit and fighting on over the objections of her family and friends. The performance of the teenagers should not be overlooked too; I suspect that we will be seeing more of many of them in films in the future. All in all, Freedom Writers is a terrific new take on an over used story. Hilary Swank goes back to school for this tribute to a real-life US teacher who inspired her unruly pupils to learn by likening the Bard to Tupac and gang violence to the Holocaust. It really is as simple as that in Richard LaGravenese’s new film, though the urge to snigger is thankfully kept at bay by the lead star’s toothsome charm and a plot that for the most part steers clear of Dangerous Minds cliches.OK, so Imelda Staunton is so irredeemably evil as Swank’s staff room nemesis you almost expect her to ride a broomstick, while the kids themselves tend to merge into one surly, volatile whole. But while the script won’t win any stars for originality, it’s all put across with enough sincerity to make the corn easy to swallow. At first glance, Freedom Writers looks like the sort of film you've seen a hundred times before, but it exerts a powerful emotional grip, thanks to a sharp script and strong performances. Based on a true story, Freedom Writers stars Hilary Swank as Erin Gruwell, a naive but well-intentioned English teacher who starts a new job at an integrated Los Angeles high school. She's assigned one of the most difficult classes and initially struggles to communicate with her students, whilst also clashing with her dismissive department head (Imelda Staunton, with a note-perfect American accent). However, things change for Erin when a gang shooting and an ugly racist cartoon passed around in class become unlikely, but effective teaching aids. Soon she's encouraging her students to read The Diary of Anne Frank and to keep journals of their own, but her achievements at work take a severe toll on her personal life, to the growing frustration of her husband (Patrick Dempsey). Hilary Swank is superb as Erin and it's interesting that the audience is encouraged to find her embarrassing attempts to be cool as cringe-worthy as the students do. However, her achievements are undeniably impressive and the film's message is genuinely inspirational. The supporting cast are excellent, particularly April Lee Hernandez (as Eva, the most outspoken student), Jason Finn (quietly impressive as sensitive student Marcus) and the always-reliable Scott Glenn as Erin's sympathetic dad. Dempsey struggles with a largely unsympathetic role but Staunton is terrific, creating a character who will be instantly familiar from work-places the world over. The decision to incorporate extracts from the actual book pays huge dividends and the film gains a large measure of its power from the emotional rawness of the students' own voices. However, the script is also careful to balance things out with the occasional witty line. An inspirational teacher movie that is moving, thought-provoking and succeeds in being genuinely inspiring. Recommended.  Hilary Swank ... Erin Gruwell Patrick Dempsey ... Scott Casey Scott Glenn ... Steve Gruwell Imelda Staunton ... Margaret Campbell April L. Hernandez ... Eva Benitez (as April Lee Hernandez) Mario ... Andre Bryant Kristin Herrera ... Gloria Munez Jaclyn Ngan ... Sindy Sergio Montalvo ... Alejandro Santiago Jason Finn ... Marcus Deance Wyatt ... Jamal Hill Vanetta Smith ... Brandy Ross Gabriel Chavarria ... Tito Hunter Parrish ... Ben Daniels Antonio García ... Miguel Download Torrent 
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