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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
Freedom Writers
There have been many movies about true stories where a teacher inspires a class and makes an indelible impact on the students. This one has something special – namely the talent of Hilary Swank, who is possibly the Katherine Hepburn of this generation.
Based on a true story, this movie follows a young, idealistic teacher from upscale Newport Beach, California who takes a job in a rough and tumble school in Long Beach, California and vows to make a difference. Erin Gruwell (Swank) is assigned a class of misfits and in the beginning has doubts that she can get through to these kids. Their lives are completely different than what she has known and experienced in her young lifetime. Their very existence is in jeopardy every day as gang violence rules the streets.
Erin finds a way to get through to these kids. She completely dedicates her life to them and even manages to get the different gang members to become friends. By teaching them about the Holocaust – something they had never heard of – she shows them that hating someone because they are a little different can lead to horrific acts. The young kids – black, Asian, Hispanic, and white – learn that important lesson and in the end come to regard each other as a family. This is a big change from the kids she initially met. Those kids segregated themselves by ethnic orientation, but after a year with Erin Gruwell they want to be together and actually stick up for each other.
Why did this young woman have such an impact? She never gave up. She knew she would find a way to get through to the kids, teach them and impact their lives. Little did she know when she started that the impact she had would be so great. As the director Richard LaGravenese says, “The kids learned to pick up a pen instead of a gun.”
Erin provided each student with a journal in which they were to write something every day. She left it up to them whether they wanted her to read it. But they had to write. And in the end their journals became the popular book The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. The book and her story are the inspiration for this movie.
In the beginning audiences might think the film is all about gang violence. But stay in your chairs. The story unfolds after the Los Angeles riots, so tensions are high. But thanks to this young teacher, the students learn that violence is not the answer. They learn tolerance and acceptance. But more than that, they finally want to learn, to read, and to write. True, her methods are a bit untraditional, but they are exactly what these kids need.
Hilary Swank proves she is worthy of her past awards and once again turns in an incredible performance. “True stories resonate with me,” says Swank. “I was inspired by the screenplay and moved by its humanity. I felt in my heart and soul that I needed to be a part of telling this story.” Swank got input from the real Erin Gruwell, who said about her experience, “I really wanted a school that had diversity, that had been affected by the riots and could be this wonderful eclectic mix of races and economics and cultures.” That is exactly what she got. Freedom Writers is a wonderful movie in itself, and even more so because it is based on a real person and real stories. To put it simply, it is inspiring.
© 2007 Francine Brokaw
All pictures ©Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
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