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I walked into the movie theater with the ticket in my hand thinking about how many other movies I have seen like the one I am about to watch. "Remember the Titans", "Stand and Deliver", "Dangerous Minds", and the list goes on and on. And so I sat in my comfy chair that rocks back and forth so my back doesn't get stiff. Of course, my theater has stadium seating so someone's big head doesn't get in the way of my movie experience. And of course, I had to sit in the row with the railing in front of it so I could put my feet up, because I wasn't going to be uncomfortable while I play critic for this movie...what are you, crazy? Then, the movie began. and it ran and I was quiet. I laughed a little and cried a little, but not for one second was I criticizing. As I saw the characters go through their horribly troubled lives and while I was reminded of little Anne Frank, I became somewhat guilty about silently complaining that I got the squeaky seat or that my friend ate all the popcorn five minutes into the movie.

Likewise, when the movie was over, I had nothing negative to say. It wasn't that I was biting my tongue, it was that I wasn't paying attention to the mistakes of the movie (wherever they were) because I was so engrossed in the plot...you know, the one I said had been done before. the movie made me realize that gang violence and racial intolerance are just as big issues today as EVER. And I decided that as long as people are isolated because of their race and as long as people innocently die in the midst of a gang war, it's okay for this plot to live on...it gives hope to those who go to bed with one eye open, and who go to school everyday wondering if they'll live to see their own graduation.

And for me? For someone like me who complains about hastily eaten popcorn? It makes me count my blessings just a LITTLE bit more frequently. And any movie with a tired, overdone plot that can do that...well, it's fine by me.

Films about our educational system have been moneymakers from The Blackboard Jungle, to Up the Down Staircase, to Stand and Deliver and now Freedom Writers. This film and Hilary Swank's lead performance in it have an honored place among those previously mentioned.

If you noticed the common thread running through all the films mentioned and this one is that it seems to take a neophyte teacher to shake up the system and try something new. And that's what Hilary Swank is in Long Beach High School a newly racially mixed school where all the kids seem to be balkanized.

The real miracle that was wrought in Freedom Writers is that Swank gave these kids a vision of the wider world. And that vision showed that as young people they had far more in common than the race and ethnicity that divided them. The writing came when she had them keep diaries that could be read on a volunteer basis.

I had a few good teachers like Hilary Swank in my youth. Some of them were just time servers and not terribly inspirational. Those are the folks the educational system ought to treasure.

I'd expect nothing less than the best from a two time Oscar winner and Ms. Swank does deliver. She gets good support from Patrick Dempsey as the husband who becomes estranged from her with her single minded devotion to her kids and from Scott Glenn as her father.

What was for me the best was having those kids read about the troubles of another young person who they could relate to. That would be Anne Frank and her diary. And the meeting of Swank's class with Holocaust survivors was tender and touching indeed.

I wish she'd been my teacher and given me The Diary of Anne Frank to read. Better than reading Silas Marner.

I read the message boards before seeing the movie and wasn't really that excited to go see it. Yes, the general storyline has been done before...

I'm a male teenager and this movie made me cry. I can't remember the last time a movie made me cry... in fact, I don't think I have (teary-eyed doesn't count). Freedom Writers moved me.

It was so much better than I expected. All I can say is that it is definitely worth at least a matinée viewing.

The movie reminded me that all of America isn't like white middle-class suburbia, of which I am a part. Regardless of how many times the same movie has been done before, the white middle-class can use as many reminders as possible that education is not that easy to obtain everywhere. Even in America, opportunity is not equal, and I think it's important for people to see that.

Don't judge the movie without seeing it.

I went to a special screening last night. I was hugely impressed. I actually cried, a rarity for me. It was moving and poignant. I will watch it again and again.

I won't spoil it for anyone, but I think the ideas about education expressed are universal, regardless of the race of either the teacher or the students.

I was also impressed by the soundtrack and cinematography, and how they incorporated the diaries into the story.

As usual, Hillary Swank puts in a good performance.

I have not read the book, so I don't know how it compares, but I am looking into purchasing a copy.

Not often do you come across a movie that is actually beautiful, the people the stories, the feelings, and it's based on a true story. No matter how many times I watch, Freedom Writers always makes me cry. The stories of these kids are so real and so compelling, and one woman standing in the thick of it all, trying to make sense and help. you can't help but feel compassionate. That one woman would go through so much to change peoples lives. it's amazing and wonderful.

I avoided watching "Freedom Writers" before because it looked like another "Dangerous Minds." Come to find out, it is another "Dangerous Minds," but slightly better. Hilary Swank is a stronger actress than Michelle Pfeiffer IMO and she integrated more pertinent and impactful learning into the students' curriculum, but it is still another "Dangerous Minds." I mean it's virtually a carbon copy of "Dangerous Minds."

Erin Gruwell (played by Hilary Swank) was a pie-eyed teacher eager to teach youths of color from disadvantaged backgrounds. She chose Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach where she'd be the English teacher for Freshmen.

Erin got more than she bargained for from the angry resentful crowd, but she stuck it out. When many teachers would have quit or mailed it in, she stayed the course to see if she could make a positive change in the pupils' lives.

My criticisms of this movie are identical to my criticisms of "Dangerous Minds." This movie was an amalgamation of other movies which did not do as well and in which the educator was a person of color. So, what you have already seen in movies such as, "To Sir, With Love," "The Marva Collins Story," "The George McKenna Story," "Lean on Me," "Stand and Deliver," and "Sister Act 2," you see in "Freedom Writers." The kids are angry, disrespectful, violent, lost, and forgotten. They are simply waiting for someone who cares and has a lot of patience and time to come rescue them. In this movie, Erin Gruwell was that person.

I talked to my wife, who is a teacher, about this movie. She and her colleagues left the theater with the same sentiment: this movie is impossible. Erin worked two additional jobs to supplement her income to purchase things for her students and she neglected everything and everyone else in her life, including her husband (played by Patrick Dempsey). Is this the model Hollywood wants to establish for a profession that's already overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated? So every teacher should give up everything else in their life for the sake of their students? And what about the teachers that teach for thirty years or more touching the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of students? Are they somehow less?

I say that because what's not given enough attention is the fact that Erin followed that class of students out of high school and never returned to teach high school again. She gave all of herself to one class of students and no others. So what about the thousands of kids like her students who came after them?

I'm not trying to denigrate Erin Gruwell's accomplishment, but I also don't want her to be overly glorified. What she did for those kids was amazing and I actually liked the movie, but I think the movie trounces over all other teachers who stay put and try to reach as many kids as they can with a more sustainable method.

This film was terrific! Very good! The acting by everyone, especially by Hilary Swank, was great. If you are in the mood for an inspirational film than you should go see this film. It puts you in a really good mood and makes you feel great! 'Freedom Writers' was filled with drama, humor, and more. It was a really nice film and a must see. 'Freedom Writers', has something for everybody. It is a film that people will love no matter what and who they are. A++++++ **** Go see this great film! It will literally set you in a good mood. P.S. It will probably make you cry so bring that special tissue box used for whatever your tears need!

I did not have an IMDb account until one minute ago. After watching "Freedom Writers" last night, I felt so passionate about it that I figured the closest I'll get to standing on top of the world and screaming to everyone to go watch this movie, was to comment online.

This inspiring film delivers a positive and productive message. It has remarkable and professional actors (Hilary Swank does an EXCEPTIONAL job) and all the dialogue is very natural and believable. I had major belly laughs throughout the entire movie (everybody in the theater had their moments of loud "crack ups"). I cried two times-- I surprised my friends and I surprised myself because for one, I NEVER cry during movies and two, I am the least sentimental individual I know. I gasped several times and I screamed once--loud! I wanted to stay inside the theater for the next showing!!

The theater was filled with a few children, many teenagers and young adults, married couples/parents and several elderly people; anyone can benefit from this movie to the max. Students (and former students) of ALL ages and ALL ethnic backgrounds will definitely enjoy it, it can open the eyes of youngsters and parents, and not only teachers, but many other professionals, can greatly be influenced. I guarantee this film will have at least one scene that will impact YOU.

I actually wasn't up to seeing Freedom Writers, it looked like a total rip off of Dangerous Minds, but after so many promising reviews, my friend and I checked it out tonite and I have to say while it is still in my opinion a copy off of Dangerous Minds, it's all good. It had a new little twist on it for a new generation who didn't have the opportunity to see Dangerous Minds. The stories were truly inspiring and very heart breaking at the same time. I never really thought how much of our history is still true to this day, you know? But it goes to show how history will always repeat itself despite how people will always claim that what is currently happening to them is a first time.

Mrs. G is a new teacher to a reform school where she will teach freshman and sophomore English. She finds the task harder when she doesn't realize what she has truly gotten herself into with the gang violence and the drug wars constantly going on. The fear that the students have not knowing if they are really going to make it to the age of 18 and trying to have courage to survive each day. At first they give Mrs. G a hard time, that is until she finds a way through history like the holocaust, to show them that the struggles they face is always eternal. Asking them to write down their feelings, stories, and thoughts into a journal, they soon become the "Freedom Writers".

Freedom Writers was a truly good movie that I was pleasantly surprised with, it had great acting and a very inspiring story. My favorite moment was when they had the woman who sheltered the Franks during the Holocaust come in and speak to the kids and told them how they could make a difference just by following their hearts and doing what they thought was right. I would recommend Freedom Writers, especially if you loved Dangerous Minds ;).

7/10

The film was amazing! It brought me in at the beginning and didn't let me go until the credits hit the screen. It made you become a part of the story and it gets you involved in the story. The movie brought me to tears a couple of times. It is a "must see" for people who truly enjoy movies! The entire cast that you follow throughout the movie do an excellent job of getting into your heart and staying there. You become emotionally attached to the characters in the movie. Hilary Swank deserves another Academy Award for her performance as the school teacher Erin Gruwell. And for those who believe this film is just another version of the 1995 film "Dangerous Minds" starring Michelle Pfieffer, think again!

It's 1994 L.A. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) is a rookie wide-eyed idealistic English teacher in Woodrow Wilson high school. It's two years after the riots. The school was academically excellent until it voluntarily integrated. She is given the at-risk kids who segregate themselves into racial cliques. Her father Steve Gruwell (Scott Glenn) is disappointed in her wasting her effort. Her husband Scott Casey (Patrick Dempsey) slowly stops being supportive. Administrator Margaret Campbell (Imelda Staunton) refuses to give her proper books. Erin gives the kids diaries to write in. The movie also follows the narrator student Eva Benitez who witnesses her boyfriend's drive-by shooting of her classmate and must testify.

It follows the very familiar formula of the white savior teacher and the rough students in need of her help. Hilary Swank is excellent and pulls off this standard melodrama. She really needs help from the students but the young actors don't stand out. They are fine for the purpose of this movie but not much more. Their stories are sincere. I can't oppose its sincerity but it does wear thin when it hits the nail over the head so directly and so often. The heart is in the right place but the formula is unchanged.

i was a freedom writer (10th-12th) and i was so upset with the over dramatized nature of this film. as i watched this film, the first weekend it was out and also glad i didn't waste my money to fly to the premiere, i was jaw dropped at all the untrue happenings. as to not spoil this film for people who are willing to waste their hard earned money on it i won't tell you everything but just watch knowing that what you are seeing has very little to do with the truth. anything even remotely good that happens in the film that doesn't include "gang warfare" and then becoming "bff" is never even mentioned of. i was almost sick in the movie because of the lack of truth. my husband knew of all the wonderful opportunities i was given in that class and he was disappointed as well. my husbands mother went with us, as she wanted to see a movie about the class she had heard so much about, and she was touched yet curious about how i turned out so well. so i guess if you know don't know anything about this class or it's students , especially the ones who weren't in a gang or were thugs, you might think that this movie is very heart warming. unfortunately you are going to be very mislead

I saw this film on December 13th, 2006 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Film Festival's Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

Woodrow Wilson High School is located in Long Beach, California. The school is voluntarily integrated, and it isn't working. The Asians, the Blacks, the Latinos, and a very few whites not only don't get along, but also stay with their own and are part of protective and violent gangs. There isn't much teaching or learning going on at the school. It is a warehouse for young teenagers until they can drop out or are kicked out.

With this background, an idealistic teacher (Hilary Swank) arrives to teach Freshmen English. She is very educated, pretty, middle class, non-ethnic, well-dressed, and smart. From day one, she doesn't fit in the classroom with these tough kids, and she doesn't fit in with the faculty, who have all but given up and resigned themselves to being the keepers of the student warehouse.

But our idealistic teacher will not give up. She slowly and painfully tries to teach by first learning about "…the pain…" the students feel. She encourages each of her students to keep a journal of their painful and difficult life, and then to share the journal with her. She also attempts to get the four ethnic groups to come together by getting them to recognize what they have in common; specifically, their music, their movies, their broken families, and their broken community surroundings.

While struggling with the students, she has to deal at the same time with two complicated and demanding male relationships. Her husband (Patrick Dempsey) is often supportive, but often jealous of her time commitments. Her father (Scott Glenn) is often disappointed of her career choice, but often proud of her courage and tenacity.

This story feels real. It is beautifully done. The acting of Swank, Dempsey and Glenn is professional and believable. More importantly the story highlights our society's challenges in schooling the children of poor and one-parent families.

The movie doesn't give miracle answers. But it does give hope. And in the end, sincere effort appears to count for something … maybe everything.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.

This is the latest in a long line of "teacher features" – "Good-bye Mr Chips", "To Sir With Love", "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "Dead Poets' Society" etc. In these films the teacher is the hero or heroine, often coming to some disadvantaged school and taking over a class dismissed by the timeservers as hopeless, and producing sparkling results. The strength of this movie, which is based on fact, is not so much in the performance of the "heroine" teacher (which is all one could ask for) but in the focus on the pupils themselves. They come from such disturbed backgrounds from the Long Beach, California, of the early 90s it is a wonder some of them are still alive, let alone at school. Many have lost brothers and sisters in gang warfare, been abused by police, mistreated by their parents and generally neglected. But when Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank), provoked by the manifest racism in the class, gets them to write about themselves, their attitude changes from surly distain to an eagerness to learn.

Naturally Ms Gruwell strikes the usual obstacles – threatened other teachers, lack of money (she takes on extra jobs to pay for school materials), skeptical management, though not much parental opposition as many are dead, or in jail. Her own family is not supportive – in fact her "neglected" husband eventually leaves her – though her father at least has the decency to congratulate her when she succeeds. But she and the kids triumph over all of that and the kid's writing is eventually published (not to mention the feature film).

Once you do see what the kids are up against it is impossible not to feel the profoundest sympathy for them. Ms Gruwell's greatest achievement is to bring them to the realization that they are all – black, latino, Asian - brothers and sisters beneath the skin. At the end it is difficult for them to let go, but they are emotionally in immeasurably better shape than on the day she walked in to the class two years earlier.

Of course Ms Gruwell is not without her critics, particularly Margaret (Imelda Staunton) her head of department and Brian (John Hickey), another English teacher (the latter a true prick, in my opinion – though both look like composite characters). They do have a point; in a large public education system the goal has to be the greatest good for the greatest number, and some are going to be left behind because their needs are too great. But Ms Gruwell does show that even meager resources can make a difference, if intelligently deployed, and the higher management has the sense not to intervene. Maybe she is going to wind up with her graduates the best writers in jail, but even that's an achievement, considering their background. The photo at the end of the picture suggests a great number of them survived and even thrived.

Hilary Swank, who has the best eager beaver manner in the business, is pretty well definitive as Erin, but some of the kids are stunning as well, particularly April Hernandez as Eva, the hardest nut to crack, Jason Finn as Marcus and Deance Wyatt as Jamal. They are a bit old for their parts (the kids were meant to be about 16) but their conviction carries them through. Some of them are non-professionals but as a group they are terrific.

This will not doubt not be the last teacher feature to be made but it will go down as one of the better ones. The real hero here is education, or enlightenment, a hero whose praises we cannot sing enough.

What a great beginning to 2007 to see this tremendous film, THE FREEDOM WRITERS, with a stunning performance from Hilary Swank and a cast of young men and women who make you "cheer and cry" all through the film for their stories and their personal journeys. And what a timely film to come out in Los Angeles when our mayor has recently gone to the Feds and asked for more money to handle the intolerable gang issues in Los Angeles.

Richard LaGravenese has delivered an infectious film that deals with real issues of teachers and American education today, and to watch these young students grow into productive lives, as well as to see how they can learn when given the chance by a teacher who believes in them and their abilities to learn, is tremendous.

The music, dialog and the location of Long Beach all make THE FREEDOM WRITERS click and adding in the personal history of the persecution of the Jews and Anne Frank's own diary, was such a marvelous way to make the students see that their own lives were similar to others who have lost love ones to the evils of war and destruction.

THE FREEDOM WRITERS, like BOBBY, gives a picture of what happened in the 1960's in the South, and like those who lost their lives to help others, these new LONG BEACH, California FREEDOM WRITERS are on a path to ensure "change" is just not a word, but an action.

I really enjoyed this movie, from the previews it doesn't give much detail to what really happens, but I found that it was very well directed, and should get praise for that. Secondly, it might have been because the sound in the theatre was kind of loud, but I found myself coming close to tears a few times in empathy for the characters in the movie. Overall, I would like to say that I enjoyed it very much, and would recommend it to people who enjoy inspirational movies, drama, and who can sit still through a 2 hour movie. :) Besides, who doesn't love seeing actors show their true talent up on the big screen like Hilary Swank?

I wanted to see this movie because I knew it would most likely be good, because most movies I saw on this subject before were pretty well done. It surprised me, because, in my opinion, it was actually better than the other movies I saw that were similar. The fact that it is a true story was one thing that made it stand out in the beginning. There is also the way The neighborhood, and school is portrayed, because it is very accurate to the time it depicts, showing the war that was going on, and the real struggles that the students had to deal with on a daily basis. The movie was so real, because it was true to the way high school students act, and the problems they faced, not putting a facade over anything to water down the truth, it shows what really happened. The actors in this movie did an amazing job. Hilary Swank led the way with a cast of not as well-known actors, who stood out and graced the big screen with their talents of conveying the truth. They added to the success of the movie, and helped develop the theme of education, and how it can really help people, and that it isn't just some cheesy plot in an inspirational "teacher" movie. It was so real that it stirred up emotions in everyone at the theater I was at, and I am not a person who cries at movies, but this movie made me feel like crying. There are such intense moments, and so many messages, and truths brought out in the movie, that it is really eye opening. It is a reminder that a little effort can make a big change. I would recommend that people go see it, because it is a very well done movie with a brilliant storyline.

Great story, poor casting. Hilary Swank has been one of my all time favorite actors. But as a teacher in San Francisco Unified, I saw her acting as lacking authenticity and insight into how her character would have had to adjust her attitude as well as the way she spoke to her students. Her acting was just not appropriate for the sensitivity and insight needed to get through to kids that are struggling as much as those kids were. She was a bit too assuming and sing-song, (which might work in other demographics) but in that context her character appeared patronizing. Kids can smell that from a mile away and there is no way that character would have had such successes. Her acting just lacked authenticity.

If you do nothing else this year - see this movie.

It has been YEARS since I have been so moved by a film. Freedom Writers ran the gamut of emotions - we laughed, we cried, we were angered, disgusted, afraid, inspired, humbled and put in awe. We were even astounded.

It is a true story.

While I've never been a big fan of Hiliary Swank - she just went up the FULL TEN notches on the post. This film is a tour de force of brilliant screen writing, direction, and story telling at it's absolute best.

It made me want to be a better person.

Hiliary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Scott Glenn are three biggest "names" in the film unless you're of a slightly older generation, then you'll remember character actress Pat Carroll in what could be her final film appearance and to quote a friend, it's a doozy. The rest of the cast are lesser known but recognizable acting professionals and a group of kids that are, simply put, phenomenal.

If this film wasn't based on a true story it would seem like a retread of To Sir With Love, Dangerous Minds and even Take The Lead. It's well-made and watchable but far too predictable and formulaic.

A 23 year old rookie teacher called Erin Gruwell (Hillary Swank) arrives to teach tough kids in an integrated school in Long Beach in the 1990s. The kids are mostly gang members and they are angry and cynical for a reason. Their whole life is a struggle to survive. Not surprisingly the kids have poor reading scores but when Gruwell arrives she decides to teach them Homer and Shakespeare. Gruwell's students are initially rude and hostile. She takes them on trips outside the neighborhood, to show them how other people live and slowly wins their trust. They develop an interest in learning and become enthusiastic about schoolwork, but there are setbacks. The kids have never heard of the holocaust, but they enjoy the Diary of Anne Frank and learn that racism can have evil consequences.

Erin has lots of opposition. Her husband (Patrick Dempsey) finds himself neglected, her father (Scott Glenn)worries about the thugs she's mixing with and her boss (Imelda Staunton) and colleagues don't understand why she is wasting her time on these violent losers. Gruwell's students all look closer to 30 than 18 and Swank is 10 years too old to play Gruwel. The film would have worked better with a teacher who looked young and vulnerable. The film ends happily, Erin is a remarkable success and her kids all love her.

So many reviews here I just want to add a few points. First, allow me to qualify, I am a LB Wilson graduate and attended K-12 in the LBUSD. LBUSD was integrated a very, very long time before this teacher taught for a few years. That aside, it is racist to assert that integration had anything to do with the problems at LB Wilson. It was my experience that integration enriched my experience. The problems asserted in this film were fictional. LB Wilson is ofter referred to as the "gem of the district." It is a great and beautiful HS in the Belmont Heights neighborhood (which is adjacent to Belmont Shore). So this ghetto theme they were passing off is a lie.

Rudy was a fun movie - I've seen it many times. But it was filled with lies. But it is fun so I can live with the Rudy Ruettiger exaggerations. In other words, I can overlook serious gaps in truth or logic if they're replaced with great writing, scenery and acting. Freedom Writers failed in every regard. That is, Freedom Writers delivered the lies and nothing else. It is my suspicion that a publicist was hard at work spinning this story.

I watched only 30 minutes before pulling the disk - I couldn't stand anymore. Speaking of standing, if you want to watch an inspirational movie about public school teaching in under-served areas of Los Angeles, watch Stand and Deliver. Jaime Escalante's multi-decade teaching career offers substantially more credibility over a teacher that lasted a couple or few years.

Wow! What a movie! I was in tears most of the time. Very, very intense movie. It was great! I didn't realize it was based on a true story and that made the whole point of the movie even better. I recommend this to everyone. A must see especially if you relate to it in any way shape or form. I think it shines hope on disadvantaged youth and great encouragement to defy all obstacles! Hillary Swank plays a great role in this film and now Im gonna go out and buy the book. My son saw this movie and was also in tears. He realized how blessed he is and how there's no excuse to not finish high school and go on to college! i will be adding these movie to my collection!