Michelle Pfeiffer’s done it. Morgan Freeman, Edward James Olmos and even Sydney Poitier have done it. Now Hilary Swank does her own “To Sir with Dangerous Minds that Lean on Me and Stand and Deliver” by playing another creative, unwavering do-gooder educator devoted to redeeming delinquent students.
Yes, it’s earnest. And, yes, it’s a familiar template.
But here’s the thing: However broadly drawn and predicable it may be, “Freedom Writers” also engages, uplifts and effectively jerks tears. It’s a fact-based vehicle of social good that you’ll want your teenager to see and that they will probably enjoy watching to boot.
Swank plays the inspiring Erin Gruwell, a real-life powerhouse of a young teacher who entered a lowest-standard, gang violence-ridden high school in Long Beach, Calif., and bucked the system in order to find ways to connect with her kids. As directed and written by Richard LaGravenese, based on the book eventually composed by her actual class — called “The Freedom Writers Diary” — the movie traces how she used the pain of young people in modern literature and pop culture, from “The Diary of Anne Frank” to Tupac Shakur, to finally reach the alienated students and encourage them to start writing down (and purging the anger and despair behind) their own tragic stories.
It’s a drama of how a privileged white woman was able to bridge the gap of race and class to transform the lives of nearly hopeless Latino, African-American and Asian adolescents through the beacon of education and by never undervaluing their potential. Especially touching is the moment in the film when the class meets with the surviving “righteous gentile” who hid Anne Frank’s family and hears her account of bravery and profound humanity in person.
Also enhancing the experience of the movie, filmmaker LaGravenese cast mostly unknown young actors from backgrounds authentically similar to their characters, including Jason Finn, April L. Hernandez and the Grammy-nominated singer, Mario. “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Patrick Dempsey uses his unique screen appeal to give layers to the character of Erin’s less-than understanding husband, who feels displaced by her career zeal. Scott Glenn plays her more supportive father, and the great English actress Imelda Staunton overplays the obstructive by-the-book principal as the Wicked Witch of the West in bad pantsuits.
As for the intense Swank, taking on “Freedom Writers” seems less an acting challenge than it is a respectable contribution to community-service cinema. And after winning two Oscars in much showier roles, there’s nothing wrong with that.
‘Freedom Writers’
Stars: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey and Scott Glenn
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Price: PG-13 for violent content, some thematic material and language
