Perfect for Anyone who Loves School, Books, Learning and Life

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 2009)

Dead Poets Society is a fascinating drama about literature, friendship, growing up and pursuing independence. Its charisma lies in a great script and an unobtrusive directing which allows the cast - mostly young actors lead by the remarkable Robin Williams - to give out heartfelt performances.
Professor John Keating (an obvious allusion here) returns to his school to teach his class literature. His students are normal teenagers, wrestling with the usual insecurities about love, their purpose in life and standing up to their parents for their share of independence. They think he's just another teacher, but rather than teaching great literature, he teaches them to think for themselves.
In his student years, Keating had belonged to a student group called Dead Poets Society which celebrated poetry and life. Taking inspiration from this, some of his students resurrect the old group and begin discovering life for themselves.
Although Robin Williams is the center of the movie, he never dominates it. His presence is felt as ideas that influence the students. But it's them that make the movie shine, as we follow their lives. It's a great collection: there's Todd (a young Ethan Hawke) who's struggling with shyness; there's Neil (Robert Sean Leonard), who decides he wants to be an actor; there's the wild Charlie, or rather "Nuwanda" (an unforgettable performance by Gale Hansen); and the love-struck Knox (Josh Charles).
Another interesting idea in this movie is that no one every likes the idea of letting young people thinking for themselves. School is seen here as a place to train people for the future, not to teach them to think critically; of course if that's not thought at school, when will there be time? Keating upsets the status quo and when a tragedy occurs he's a suitable scapegoat. Not everyone appreciates new ideas and change. The denouement is one of the strongest I've seen in any movie.
Dead Poets Society is a fantasy: in an ideal world, teachers would be cool and fascinating; and students would be receptive to knowledge and daring. As it is, this movie remains an alternative to our world full of conformity and tedium.