Freedom Writers

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violent content, some thematic material and language
Release Date: Jan. 5, 2007

In 1994 in a classroom at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic young teacher, Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) faces her first group of students, labeled by the administration as “un-teachable, at-risk” teenagers.

The class of diverse students live in rough, violent neighborhoods and have three things in common: they hate school, their teacher, and each other.

The kids are also dealing with the aftermath of the race-related Rodney King riots and the O.J. Simpson trial. They feel like they’ve been written off by the world at large, but Gruwell isn’t ready to give up on them. She introduces them to books such as “Night” by Elie Wiesel, “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,” and “Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo,” by Zlata Filipovic — all journal-based books with a common theme of dealing with grave circumstances and tragedy.

The students begin writing anonymous diaries about their lives: gangs, immigration, drugs, violence, abuse, death, anorexia, dyslexia, teenage love, weight issues, divorce and suicide.

They name themselves “The Freedom Writers,” in honor of Civil Rights leaders, the Freedom Riders. Through the writing process they change from a group of apathetic, frustrated kids to a close-knit, motivated family. They raise funds and arrange for Miep Gies (Pat Carroll), the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family during WWII, and Zlata Filipovic to visit them in California.

Sure, we’ve seen movies like this before (Dangerous Minds, Coach Carter, etc.) where an optimistic teacher tries to reform at-risk kids. But this one, based on a true story, is moving. The movie doesn’t romanticize life in a poor, racially charged area, where just getting through the day alive is a major achievement for most kids.