Dead Poets Society




Oh captain, my captain.

This film takes place in a 1950's prep school. The new English teacher, Mr. Keating (Robin Williams), has an unique approach to teaching and works hard to inspire his students with poetry. His efforts pay off as some of the boys create a club dedicated to poetry (The Dead Poets Society). But being inspired when you're seventeen is looked down upon by the other teachers, and it soon leads to problems.

The subject contains both amusing and touching moments. Don't be deceived, this movie isn't really about Robin William's character, but the students in his class. There's Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), a seemingly carefree student who has an aspiration to become an actor. His roommate Todd Anderson (a young Ethan Hawke) is slightly more laid back, but he is the one most influenced by Mr. Keating. There are several other characters that have different threads weaving in and out of the story. There's one about love, one about betrayal, making this a good coming of age story.

Scripting wise, Dead Poets Society never fails to entertain. Full of humorous lines and pondering monologues, it's no wonder this movie won an Oscar for it. Weir's direction works nicely in conjunction, making us care for these people and wanting more even more after it's over. You want to see more of Knox and his girl, you want to see Todd do more and so on.

This movie, though excellent, never really does everything it can. The ending, while good, may be a little too much. It's rather in the subtle moments that this movie really shines. The message of suppressing free thought is pretty obvious, but there other, more distinguished thoughts that make this movie such a treat.

Robin Williams is outstanding, doing some of his best work here. There's a strong supporting cast of younger actors as well, especially with performances from Leonard and Gale Hansen.

This is a nice uplifting film that doesn't get dragged down even when things go wrong. It is an all too believable story wonderfully directed and acted.



-The Gnome