It's a theme that is all too familiar in Hollywood. A young, na??ve teacher enters an inner-city classroom filled with racial tension, determined to improve the grades and the lives of students. While she struggles with the task, in the end she feels as the audience does - accomplished and heart warmed.
Over ten years ago, it was Michelle Pfeiffer in "Dangerous Minds." Now, it's Hillary Swank in "Freedom Writers."
However, the usual rules don't apply this time around. Film director Richard LaGravenese ("A Decade Under the Influence") proves himself to be overly capable of taking a conventional storyline and spicing it up with interesting characters, great dialogue and scenarios that make it more than a typical Hollywood film.
The movie is based on the true story of Erin Gruwell, which is detailed in the book, "The Freedom Writers Diary: How A Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change themselves and The World Around Them."
The film captures the atmosphere of high racial tension among the characters, which is set early on with news clips of the 1992 Rodney King riots.
Erin Gruwell (Swank) is about to be introduced to her first class at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. She is framed as an innocent and optimistic character ready to change the lives of her students through education.
The expectations she has for her students and classroom are clearly unrealistic. She has been given the seemingly impossible task of educating a classroom full of out of control students who belong to gangs and have racist mentalities.
Even Gruwell's husband (Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy") doubts that she will be able to change the lives of her students, but the idealism of Swank's character shines through in everything she does. As she gains the respect of her students, she is portrayed as a saint-like figure.
Against the odds, Gruwell is able to motivate change in her pupils by teaching them about the horrors of the Holocaust and the serious ramifications that ignorance can cause.
Swank's performance is remarkable and differs greatly from other portrayals in films of this sort, such as "Stand and Deliver" and "Lean on Me."
At one point in the movie, Gruwell gives each student a journal. As their voiceovers tell the stories of their personal problems, the camera focuses in on their faces against dark, shadowed backgrounds. For the first time, the audience is able to understand Gruwell's desire to help them.
Overall, "Freedom Writers," is truly enjoyable, putting captivating twists on what could have potentially been an ill-fated, repetitive storyline.
