Review of Chalk (2007) by Chris S — 15 Sep 2007

This movie suprised me. I was not expecting the format in which this movie was shot, it reminded me of 'The Office'. It was a live action view into the everyday life of a teacher; shown directly by them living it.

It did a good job of capturing a variety of different teachers, all of which reminded me of teachers I once encountered in some shape or another. It also did a good job capturing how teachers relate to eachother which really rang true to me since I had a small window to see some of that growing up.

The way the students related to the teachers and vice versa was also right on the money, since it reminded me so much of how it was in school. I actually felt like I was in this school, in the classrooms, for the entire school year; which is a feat since the movie only ran for 84min.

A little over halfway through the movie, I was hoping the end would come though, much like I imagine everyone at the school was wishing for summer. I did not wish it was over because I thought it was a bad movie, but rather.

I felt like I was in the school with them and wanted to get out as much as all of them.

I think the viewer of this movie parallels Mr. Lowrey, the first year teacher, in the way you are experiencing this school for the first time just like him; and at the end you get to decide how much you enjoyed it.

I think just like school this movie is an interesting experience, but you never really want to go back. It is a good watch for those wanting to experience a bit of nostalgia, and it gave me my fix for sure.