Freedom Writers Reviews

I don't know how I missed Freedom Writers. I guess I've just been too busy with life. There are times, however, to take a break. And, I'm glad I did. This movie really touched me.

Freedom Writers is a true story. It's about a teacher who landed in a tough area with a tough class. Tough doesn't really begin to describe it. These were kids who had given up. The "system" wasn't helping. This teacher did.

It wasn't easy. Most things worth doing aren't.

Erin (Hillary Swank) had big dreams for her first class. The kids didn't dare to dream. Life had been too hard. Life was a battle zone. Erin quickly found...

Teaching high school students can be a very difficult undertaking. Parents have to be dealt with, discipline must be administered, and students' attention spans must be lengthened to make sure they pay attention and absorb the material presented to them. Add to that the problems associated with teaching high school students in an inner city school and you compound the situation to a point that would cause many teachers to throw their hands skyward in defeat. But there is one teacher in the Los Angeles area that was faced with exactly this situation and faced the challenge head- on. Her story is...

Hilary Swank stars as the title character, Erin Gruell - a neophyte high school teacher with ambitious goals for her wrong-side-of-the-track students.  Swank brings such a genuine spirit to her portrayal that you are automatically rooting for her success even though you know she'll have assorted obstacles...

Gripping, inspiring and educational; featuring Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Mario.

Erin Gruwell (Swank) starts her teaching career in one of the worst possible places, a school in the middle of a war zone.  Surrounded by violence and the fight to survive, Gruwell tries to help her students thrive and succeed not only in school but in life.

Caught in a system that doesn't care, these kids are given the chance to better their lives.  Do they take the chance?  Watch and see as this movie goes in some very interesting directions.

Although the storyline is familiar, it doesn't have any butt kicking...

Because the movie was based off a true story, I thought that it might not be too cheesy as an inspirational movie. I went to the local dollar theater to see the movie, figuring that if it was bad, I was only out a dollar. I was pleasantly surprised though. I hadn't seen Hilary Swank before and I thought that this was a fantastic role for her. I wonder how close they stayed to the actual story, but it was definitely an encouraging story. I couldn't help but wonder though just how co-dependent this woman was. She changed these student's lives though and that is a very good thing.