Good film damaged by melodrama/heavy-handedness

Rating: 6/10 (3 March 2007)

At the exclusive Weldon Academy in post-WWII New England, boys are expected to go to school, grow up, conform, survive school, and contribute to society. But along comes Mr. Keating (Robin Williams), a flamboyant teacher who thinks that school should teach students how to live their own lives, and he teaches a most unconventional class, getting the students to love and celebrate poetry and the arts. Unfortunately, one of his students, Neil (Robert Sean Leonard), has his dreams of being an actor shot down by his overprotective father (Kurtwood Smith), and is driven to suicide - leading to the inevitable showdown between the teacher and the school.
Sound familiar? Yes, this is a pretty clichéd plot, especially twenty years later; the setting and characters are right out of "A Separate Peace", a similarly overwrought novel about conformity vs. individualism at a private school, and about five hundred other movies and novels. Pretty much any high school/college student, and even most adults, could probably appreciate its moral: be yourself and go against the grain if necessary. The story does get some mileage out of this fact; a lot of what it gets right is also due to the fine cast, particularly Robin Williams. But overall, the film is a mixed-bag at best; not ruined, but certainly hampered by the heavy-handed way in which its issues are handled.
The film excels in period detail, and director Peter Weir deserves credit for being able to create an oppressive tone in the scenes at the academy; except, of course, the brilliantly lit classroom of Mr. Keating. The '50s were a time of conformity, a decade in which individuality was muted in favor of community, and so setting the film in that time period adds additional resonance to the story.
However, "Dead Poet's Society" stumbles occasionally, and its inclusion of predictable melodrama dampens its effect somewhat. The romance between student Knox (Josh Charles) and a local girl (Lara Flynn Boyle) seems tacked on and adds nothing to the story. The relationship between Neil and his parents is somewhat forced and obvious, and his lengthy suicide sequence is overlong and lacks the emotional power it could have had. And the film really sputters in its ridiculous anti-climax; nothing is resolved, but hey, I guess you could consider it a happy ending.
What makes the film watchable more than anything else are the performances. Robin Williams gives one of his first serious performances, and he is remarkable as Keating. We can clearly see how the character is inspiring and why the students take to him so quickly; he is a man who believes what he says, loves life, and overall stands in sharp contrast to those around him. Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Josh Charles all turn in fine performances as the most notable of the students, and Kurtwood Smith is excellent as Neil's domineering father. Even when the character relationships don't quite work, the performances are able to make them credible.
"Dead Poet's Society" is a film that contains some memorable scenes, an excellent cast, and an excellent moral to inspire teenagers struggling to find their place in the world. It's easy to see, due to these elements, why it is considered to be a classic by so many people. However, the film has many negative aspects that cannot be ignored, and I can't say that "Dead Poet's Society" is one of my favorites.
6/10