Extraordinary

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2010)

Inspirational films run the risk of being boring and preachy, but "Dead Poet's Society," an under-appreciated near-masterpiece, is neither. A great script, superb performances and excellent direction make "Dead Poet's Society" a truly amazing film.
The film takes place at Welton Academy, a prestigious boarding school for boys that prides itself on tradition. Enter John Keating (Robin Williams), a passionate poetry teacher who encourages his students to "make their lives extraordinary." With his unconventional teaching methods, Keating inspires his students to break out of the molds that their school is putting them into, and become individualsfor better or worse.
The acting in this film is nothing short of incredible. Robin Williams gives his best performance as Keating. Williams was born to play this role, plain and simple. He plays the role with so much passion that it is impossible not to become inspired ourselves. If every teacher were as good as John Keating, then I would have become a Nobel Prize winner by the time I reached college. Although this is not a comedy, the role does give Williams the chance to earn a few grins and chuckles (watch for the scene where he talks about Shakespeare). The young actors who play the students are no less compelling. Robert Sean Leonard is terrific as Neil Perry, a young man with his future already planned out for him by his domineering father. But Keating gives him the chance to break out and discover who he really is, but the threat of his father's anger always clouds over him. Leonard ably portrays the sense of a young man trapped in a life that he begins to realize is not what he wants. Leonard should have received at least some recognition for his performance. Ethan Hawke is also very good as the incredibly shy new student, Todd Anderson. Everyone knows a kid like Todd, who is so insecure that he has trouble speaking up in class. Hawke is so good that we can't help but feel for the guy. Josh Charles and Gale Hansen are quite funny as Knox, the guy who is lovelorn for a girl at the local public school, and Charlie, the rich troublemaker.
However, there is an actor that is often overlooked, and that's a shame. Kurtwood Smith is outstanding as Neil's father. The talented character actor is actually rather frightening as the overbearing father. Yet Smith never lets the character become a "villain," so to speak. He wants what's best for his son, and he gave everything to get Neil into Welton, but he can't understand that Neil may not want the life that is set out for him. Smith should have gotten an Oscar for his performance, though he was not nominated.
Peter Weir has established the perfect tone for the film. It's not the witty comedy that the trailers make it out to be (although there are some funny moments, including a hilarious scene involving a telephone), nor is it a manipulative tearjerker. This is a character exploration about a few young men who are breaking out of the norm and learning what life is really about, and who they really are. However, Weir makes one blunder, and it's a big one. The film's climax is superbly constructed (the sense of foreboding is quite potent and disturbing), but when the big moment comes, he makes a huge mistake by using slow-motion. It only lasts a few seconds, but it's so over-the-top that it shatters everything that the previous few minutes have built up. The film recovers as soon as the clip is over, however, primarily because our character identification is so strong.
This is a truly amazing film, and I cannot express that enough. I love this movie with all my heart.