Common Sense Media Review
True story of inspirational teacher; language, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
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Freedom Writers
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 17 parent reviews
Parents say the film delivers a powerful and inspiring message about education and personal growth, highlighting the challenges faced by underprivileged youth amid difficult social issues like gang violence and racial division. While it features some intense themes potentially unsuitable for younger audiences, many viewers believe it serves as an essential conversation starter for families and educators alike.
- inspiring message
- educational value
- intense themes
- suitable for older teens
- discussion starter
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 35 kid reviews
What's the Story?
In FREEDOM WRITERS, enthusiastic and innocent teacher Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) arrives at a high school in Long Beach just after the L.A. uprising in 1992, aiming to follow in her civil rights activist father's footsteps. Erin's first few days at school are daunting: She witnesses a fight, sees a boy pull out a gun, and endures taunts from her students, who see themselves as their other teachers see them: the "ghetto-ass class" unworthy of attention or time. Erin is also discouraged by her cynical colleagues but she persists, seeking ways to connect with her students. Finally, one of them -- distrustful Eva (April Lee Hernandez) -- explains her rage: "White people running this world," she says. "I saw white cops shoot my friend in the back for reaching into his pocket. They can because they're white. I hate white people on sight." Erin realizes that since her students self-segregate by race, they never learn one another's stories. So, she has them stand together in the classroom when they've shared an experience, like losing a friend to violence. They begin to recognize their similarities. As the students write about their lives in a "war zone," Erin also has them visit L.A.'s Holocaust museum and read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Moved by Frank's story, the kids raise money to bring Miep Gies (Pat Carroll), the woman who hid Frank from the Nazis, to campus.
Is It Any Good?
This deeply earnest drama follows a familiar storyline. An idealistic young teacher inspires her "at-risk" urban students to respect each other and themselves. She's white, they're mostly of color; she's clueless about their harsh lives, they initially resent her cluelessness but learn to appreciate her efforts to understand them. It's this last part that makes director Richard LaGravenese's film work, despite its many clichés. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) makes a difference by asking her students to talk to her and each other -- and acting on what they say.
The plot is predicable, the actors too old to play high school students, and the pacing too slow. And really, the camera circles around deep-thinking faces a few too many times. But Freedom Writers also argues for listening to teenagers. That in itself makes it a rare and close-to-wonderful thing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way that Erin engages her students -- by listening to them. How is this an effective way to teach? How do the students learn from one other when they share their stories?
How is this movie an example of the "white savior narrative?" What are some other examples of movies in which people of color struggle to find their way in the world until a white protagonist comes along and finds their true calling in life by saving the people of color from their circumstances?
This is a movie based on a true story. What aspects of the story do you think actually happened, and what aspects do you think were heightened or exaggerated for the sake of creating more drama and conflict in the movie?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 4, 2007
- On DVD or streaming : April 17, 2007
- Cast : Hilary Swank , Imelda Staunton , Patrick Dempsey
- Director : Richard LaGravenese
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Paramount Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 123 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violent content, some thematic material and language.
- Award : NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Nominee
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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