Better than I expected

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2009)

John Keating (Robin Williams) is the new English teacher at a public school in the USA. He has unorthodox teaching methods that inspire his pupils who then set up the "Dead Poet's Society", a society that Mr Keating was involved in when he was a student at the school. The idea is to meet up at night and recite poetry in order to free the mind and impress the ladies. We follow a handful of students as they try and do things their own way as inspired by Mr Keating but things go wrong.....
I was surprised that I enjoyed it. Robin Williams isn't his usual annoying self. In fact, it is Ethan Hawke who plays Todd that walks away with the most annoying character award. His character is very frustrating. There are a few unrealistic threads to the story, eg, a group of boys meeting up to read poetry at night - no way - boys sneak out to play football at night NOT to read poetry to each other. In real boarding schools, new kids are indoctrinated with humiliating rituals such as masturbating onto a piece of toast or a biscuit - they are not asked if they want to join a study group. But, then again, Americans are a different species. And no way would a pupil stand up in class and recite a poem about his love for a girl infront of his classmates just like a sissy! I also found that I didn't quite believe Neil's (Robert Sean Leonard) actions at the end of the film and as for the new boy, Todd, who knows his room-mate least out of everyone else, his reaction only makes sense if he is dealing with some gay issues.
However, there were some funny scenes and there were also some parts that make you think, eg, when the pupils are shown the pictures of previous pupils on the walls of the hallway - pupils who are now all dead.
This film is responsible for idiots saying "Carpe Diem". Its a bit long but its entertaining despite a downbeat end section.