Viewed in
1997, 2012
Formats
VHS, HDTV
Premise
Robin Williams stars as an unorthodox English teacher who takes over poetry class of an uptight boys school and shakes things up.
Liked
Performances.
Disliked
Story.
Thoughts
There are quite a few "Robin Williams is an unorthodox ______ who shakes things up" movies, but this was probably of his best.
Director Peter Weir extracted some excellent acting from Williams and the rest of the cast. As we know from his career, Williams is usually at his best when he's restrained and reserved, and this was a classic example. The cast included some recognizable faces, such as Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Kurtwood Smith. Apparently Lara Flynn Boyle was in it, but I couldn't spot her.
While the acting was strong, the writing was rather weak. I dislike movies that are light-hearted in the first hour, but super-serious in the second half, and this was no different. In addition, the dialog was sometimes too on-the-nose and the lessons seemed to have the same repetitive morals.
Despite its flaws, the performances were strong enough to overcome those to make Dead Poets Society an worthwhile drama.
