REEL FANS:True story of a good teacher

EDITOR’S NOTE: A Daily Pilot staffer went to Edwards Big Newport to get moviegoers’ opinions of “Freedom Writers,” starring Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Imelda Staunton and Scott Glenn.

“Freedom Writers” tells the story of Erin Gruwell — played by Hilary Swank — a young, idealistic, student teacher who began her career in education in 1993 at Wilson High School in Long Beach. Her students were black, Latino and Asian; at war with the world and each other; gang members; drugdealers; and young adults with no idea what it meant to believe in their potential.

In this true story of compassion, determination and grit, Gruwell battled Wilson’s administrators and the Long Beach school district in an effort to expose her “low-performing” students to the world around them.

Realizing they needed an outlet for their anger and frustration, Gruwell encouraged her class to write a journal each day. Sharing their feelings and life experiences in class became the basis for lessons in tolerance, acceptance, commitment and, ultimately, life changes — for both the students and their dedicated teacher.

“I was very impressed with the way that she [Hilary Swank] presented herself to the students, and I felt she really found a way to get in touch with them, to inspire them — and she became a great motivational person for them in their lives. They had so much tragedy in their lives, so to me, it was very touching and very impressive to see some good things said about teachers. We see a lot of negative things, and I think it’s good to see positive things. I just retired from teaching, so it touched me very much.

“I know the area there [Long Beach], and I know that it would be very difficult for a student to go to school there and to be in that type of environment, where here it’s completely different. I just felt the whole movie was very inspirational — to me it was — because I feel that there are a lot of teachers out there, and we don’t see all those good teachers, and there are a lot of them, and it’s a hard job — a very difficult job.”

SONNIE ADDISON

Corona del Mar

“I thought the movie was beyond excellent. I like true stories and films based on true stories very much. I know that you have to make up some of the scenes and so forth, but the basic story and the way it was portrayed — I just have great admiration for teachers who excel and who can communicate.

“I just asked this other lady how many really good teachers she knew, and she said that she could count them on one hand. I’d say the very same thing — there are very few really talented teachers who communicated to me and challenged me, and I highly respect those who were able to do that. She [Gruwell] obviously did that, and it was very heart-warming…. I liked the acting of the lady [department head Margaret Campbell, played by Imelda Staunton] who was against her [Gruwell] — how intense and hateful she was. I thought that from an acting standpoint, she did an excellent job. I didn’t like her as a person, but I liked her acting. And of course, to see the transformation of the kids — from where they began to what they became — that whole thing.”

ROY PARSONS

Newport Coast

“I really enjoyed the movie. I thought they did a pretty good job of showing how innovative she was in reaching that type of a classroom — that type of a mix of people. I had an idea about the movie because I’d seen some previews of it, and I’d read a little bit about it coming in, and I just thought that they did a real good job of putting it together. Certainly she was to be commended as a teacher in putting forth the methods that she did that brought everybody together.

“The casting, I thought, was really good — Patrick Dempsey was kind of a dud to me, but his role [as Gruwell’s husband] was not that believable. Maybe it was the way he played it — he was just a little too unsupportive of her. On the other hand, she was so overly enthusiastic, maybe that was a little overplayed, as well. I enjoyed the movie. I thought the way they were able to bring the lady who hid Anne Frank over — that was pretty emotional and very entertaining. I enjoyed that part.”

RON ADDISON

Corona

del Mar

“I thought it was a great movie — definitely inspiring how she involved different parts of the community…. She understood the fact that anyone is eager to learn overall, and I think that was a really good message. Michelle Pfeiffer did a movie that was similar [“Dangerous Minds”], but this was really straight-ahead and had a lot of purpose. It wasn’t overly dramatic, and all the scenes flowed well. It wasn’t trying to preach a message, but it really communicated on a human level and involved a really good message.

“I liked it when the students were interested and finally were empowered — when they felt empowered — and how she [Gruwell] empowered the students. She drove right ahead and made it happen. I would definitely watch the movie again. It was interesting to see and watch, on a lot of different levels.”

STEVE

ADDISON

Corona del Mar

“I thought the movie was absolutely outstanding. I think it should be shown in every junior high and high school in the nation, and I think teachers should have to see it. She [Gruwell] really was very, very intuitive in how to work with the racial thing, and I think that would be a good lesson for all of us to see that, to understand that there are ways to do it using history. I thought it was incredible, and I will definitely recommend it highly. I had seen previews in the theater, but didn’t know the story of the real teacher, though I knew that it was a true story.

“I thought it was well-cast — I thought some of the kids looked older than freshmen or sophomores, but that wasn’t a distraction. And a lot of kids are delayed in their schooling, so it can be that they are a freshman and can still look — or are — older than 17. I really liked the teacher, and also the Dutch lady [Miep Gies, played by Pat Carroll]. And the girl [Eva, played by April Lee Hernandez] who had such a struggle and had to witness in court. I thought she had an incredible transformation, and she suffered for it, but she learned a wonderful lesson about being honest.”

KATIE PARSONS

Newport

Coast