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Freedom Writers (2007)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 124
Fresh: 86 | Rotten: 38

Freedom Writers is a frank, formulaic entry in the inspirational inner-city teacher genre, with an energetic Hilary Swank leading the appealing cast of unknowns.

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 10

Freedom Writers is a frank, formulaic entry in the inspirational inner-city teacher genre, with an energetic Hilary Swank leading the appealing cast of unknowns.

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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 269,053

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Movie Info

Assigned the thankless task of teaching freshman English at a gang-infested Long Beach, CA high school, a 23-year-old teacher resorts to unconventional means of breaking through to her hardened students in director Richard LaGravenese's adaptation of Erin Gruwell's best-seller The Freedom Writer's Diaries: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. Her students had been written off, and her chances of succeeding scoffed at, but Erin Gruwell (Hilary

PG-13, 2 hr. 2 min.

Drama

Directed By: Richard LaGravenese , Richard La Gravenese

Written By: Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell, Richard LaGravenese

In Theaters: Jan 12, 2007 Wide

On DVD: Apr 17, 2007

Box Office:$36.5M

Paramount Pictures

Freedom Writers Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Hilary Swank
Erin Gruwell
Scott Glenn
Steve Gruwell
Imelda Staunton
Margaret Vail
Patrick Dempsey
Scott Casey
Mario
Andre
April Lee Hernandez
Eva
Robert Wisdom
Dr. Carl John
John Benjamin Hickey
Brian Gelford
Pat Carroll
Miep Gies
Hunter Parrish
Ben
Kristin Herrera
Gloria
Jaclyn Ngan
Sindy
Sergio Montalvo
Alejandro
Jason Finn
Marcus
Deance Wyatt
Jamal
Vanetta Smith
Brandy
Gabriel Chavarria
Tito
Antonio Garc�a
Miguel
Giovonnie Samuels
Victoria
Will Morales
Paco
Armand Jones
Grant Rice
Ricardo Molina
Eva's Father
Angela Alvarado
Eva's Mother
Anh Nguyen
Sindy's Boyfriend
Liisa Cohen
Brandy's Mother
Brian Bennett
Brandy's Father
Mr. Horace Hall
Himself
Tim Halligan
Principal Banning
Lisa Banes
Karin Polachek
Giselle Bonilla
Young Eva
Earl Williams
Young Marcus
Blake Hightower
Olive
Angela Sargeant
Marcus' Mother
Robin Skye
PTA Mom
Chil Kong
Store Owner
Juan Garc�a
Defense Attorney
Larry Cahn
Prosecutor
Sharaud Moore
Hall Monitor
Abel Soto
Gang Member
Dan Warner
Cop #1
Randy Hall
Cop #2
Carl Paoli
Cop #3
Dominic Daniel
Drug Dealer
Cody Chappel
Bookstore Clerk
DJ Motive8
DJ
Renee Firestone
Herself (Holocaust Surv...
Eddie Ilam
Himself (Holocaust Surv...
Elisabeth Mann
Herself (Holocaust Surv...
Gloria Ungar
Herself (Holocaust Surv...
Rock Anthony
Dre Bowie
Jennifer Camacho

Critic Reviews for Freedom Writers

All Critics (132) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (40) | DVD (29)

Engaging but clich�d inspirational drama set during the time of the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles. On some level, just about any movie featuring never-say-die teachers is effective.

January 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor

| Comment

Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Top Critic

Square, sincere, and proud of it.

January 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly

| Comment

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

Our eager-beaver heroine suffers the kids' sarcasm, fails to earn their respect by bringing in a Tupac tape, then wins them over in a crucial scene that, fact-based or not, rings as false as anything in Dangerous Minds.

January 9, 2007 Full Review Source: Village Voice

| Comment

Rob Nelson

Village Voice

Top Critic

Corny? You bet. And worse when the plot veers into the glitz of a Dangerous Minds and the sappiness of a TV After School Special. But the movie, which Swank helped produce by using her clout as a two-time Oscar winner, gets to you.

January 9, 2007 Comment

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

Freedom Writers is another exceptional teacher scenario not so different from the norm.

January 6, 2007 Full Review Source: CNN.com

| Comment

Tom Charity

CNN.com

Top Critic

It's not a great movie, but at-risk teens could do a lot worse.

January 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

| Comment

Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

The movie benefits from an interesting subject and good acting, I just wish it were more focused and deep.

July 3, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Unless you're a teacher longing to identify with your lifestyle on screen, this movie is still just another of many in an already oversaturated genre.

August 23, 2008 Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com

| Comment

Heather Huntington

ReelzChannel.com Source: ReelzChannel.com

Familiar plot has a strong, inspirational message.

July 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

A richly rewarding film experience that rises to the top of its genre.

January 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

| Comment

Bruce Bennett

Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

While it is, like its genre brethren, inspiring and uplifting, Freedom Writers glosses over so much material that it makes the process look too easy.

August 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Calgary Movies

| Comment (1)

Ryan Cracknell

Calgary Movies

Ironically, the film features almost zero teaching. Despite much pedagogical posturing, it doesn't teach us much, either.

August 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks

| Comment (1)

Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

The HD-DVD version of Freedom Writers includes just one high definition item among its extras: the movie trailer.

July 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

Worthwhile because of its honesty, because it tells a true story that's worth telling, and because Hilary Swank and company have done it so well.

July 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

Is this film formulaic? Yes. Does it accomplish what it set out to do? Yes. ... It's certainly not a perfect movie but it does offer many pleasures.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews

| Comment

Ted Murphy

Murphy's Movie Reviews

Paramount's DVD presentation provides further incentive to give this movie a look.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review

| Comment

Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

Swank's earthiness is key here, and she consistently rises above the story's cliches.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: DVD Review

| Comment

Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

an intelligent film about complex issues, social and emotional, personal and professional, all handled in a way that challenges the audience rather than reassures or placates it.

April 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews

| Comment

Andrea Chase

Killer Movie Reviews

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Freedom Writers

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Moving and compelling drama finds Hilary Swank as a high school English teacher named Erin Gruwell. Ms. Gruwell is teaching teens (who are thought to be "unteachable") in the inner-city, and realizing they have all been affected by crime, gangs, and/or violence in one way or another, she starts a project allowing them

July 20, 2011

Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

Inspirational... A must see!

June 23, 2011

Bethany Murphy

Super Reviewer

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