![]() Most of the movie takes place in that classroom, where Erin hits upon “The Diary of Anne Frank” as a way into her students’ hearts and minds - and as a motivation for their own journal writing, a collection of which became the book on which the film is based. Eventually, however, the desperation of their circumstances adds luster to Erin’s work in the classroom. More crucially, “Freedom Writers,” initially at least, paints such a hopeless picture of underprivileged black and Latino teen lifethat many viewers would advise Erin to throw in the towel. Why does it always seem that a well-to-do white teacher is towing minority kids out of the intellectual quicksand of their environment? In this case, because the story is based on the real-life Erin Gruwell and her real-life class. ![]() Well shot by Jim Denault, “Freedom Writers” is a good-looking film, although it treads on shaky moral ground. Margaret - and the audience - just know those pearls are going to be ripped off Erin’s neck by some felonious student they eventually serve as both MacGuffin and talisman. Starting out with footage of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 (the film is set in ’94), he sets up the students’ psychology through an internal dialogue narrated by one student, Eva (April Lee Hernandez), a Latina gang member whose worldview is shared by her peers: Their streets are a war zone, and school, while relatively safe, is an exercise in futility.Īrriving at Woodrow Wilson for her first day, Erin meets her soon-to-be nemesis Margaret Campbell (a terrific Imelda Staunton), who eyes Erin’s string of pearls with apprehension. Swank portrays Erin’s awe, panic and ultimately her very courageous resolve to be who she is and fight on.īetter known for his screenwriting (“A Little Princess,” “Beloved,” “The Horse Whisperer”), helmer LaGravenese mixes stylistic maneuvers while hitting very few speed bumps. There are moments in this, screenwriter Richard LaGravenese’s third feature as a director, that may require viewers to take shots of insulin, but Swank’s performance overcomes the shock of the sentimental: As Erin Gruwell - the real-life teacher who, with her students, wrote “The Freedom Writers Diary” - she is a delicate piece of fresh meat for a school of young high schoolers who are better-versed in street fights than Robert Frost.Īrmed with ambitious lesson plans and dreamy ideals, Erin arrives at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif.,thoroughly ill-equipped for a student body raised according to the ethics of urban tribalism.
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