Dead Students Classroom...

Rating: 7/10 (27 April 2006)

... Speaking for myself, I don't want to spend a large amount of time in the company of young men who need *permission* to be themselves. If teacher John Keating's role necessitated 'guidance', THEN I could understand, but it doesn't. They all show themselves to have a certain amount of gumption and intelligence outside of the classroom; so why once they get in there are they portrayed as spineless saps who need to be taken by the hand and 'shown the way'?!
Keating (Williams) didn't seem to me to have as much effect as I was led to expect and hoped for as I watched. This was more about the boys just being lucky enough to have a role-model standing in front of them who didn't fit societal norms at the time. The kids weren't taught anything much beyond learning how to follow their own instincts, and really, shouldn't fraternising with your peers teach you to do that adequately enough?!
It's hard to feel sympathy for people who've got all the raw materials already there; but appear to be so feckless that they need to be *pushed* in order to put them to use! Films that show mentoring the disadvantaged are easier to get behind because you're rooting for the underdogs; there's just no such incentive, in this case. This may be much better made than material like "Dangerous Minds", but at least in that case there's more 'antagonism' going on underneath the surface...
I still enjoyed the film greatly; but making the circumstances of the pupils more sympathetic straight from the get-go would have turned this film into one of my all-time favourites...