Review of Dead Poets Society (1989) by Shane S — 12 Dec 2010

I'm going to be biased here, but this film spoke out to me quite loudly. For once, at least I'm not alone in condemning the general conformity of the 1950s. In Peter Weir's dramedy about a group of students who learn a lot from their daring professor (Robin Williams) and think outside the box, you have that general feeling that you want the boys to succeed.

And besides, the film's quite artistically pleasing for a major studio film.

So, this film's about a bunch of students who get a new teacher: John Keating (Williams), who tells them to seize the day and be daring amongst these plastic peers of theirs. With that, they reform a club that Keating formed back in the 1930s, read poetry, and try to get girls in the school while following their hearts. However, when one of them kills themselves out of despair (though out of a childish urge to retort to Dad in the worst way possible), the club, Keating's position, and individuality are all at stake.

This shows that Robin Williams can be a great dramatic actor. While he mugged throughout his early roles, this movie - a humble indie piece by "Truman Show" director Weir - led the way to better fare like "One Hour Photo" and anything that isn't "Old Dogs".