High Society

I recently watched the movie Dead Poets Society for the first time, the story of a group of boys in a late 1950s prep school inspired by an unorthodox teacher to "seize the day" and live life to the fullest. The movie was nomiated for an Oscar, along with Robin Williams for his role as the teacher.

Despite this praise, I have to say that I actually thought Robin Williams was the weak link in this cast. I think that at the time of the movie's release in 1989, it simply caught everyone by surprise that he could play it mostly serious in a fundamentally dramatic role. Since then, we've had many, many examples of this (including Good Will Hunting, for which he finally did win an Oscar). But at the time, this must have really been quite the shock, and I think it's over-credited as a result.

Partly due to the performance and partly due to the writing, I simply never believed that this teacher character could truly be that much of an inspiration to the boys in his charge. Maybe the prep school setting (of which I have no personal experience) and 1950s setting also served to alienate me further from this aspect of the plot. For the sum of whatever the reasons, though, I felt like Robin Williams' character came off more quirky and weird than rebellious and influential.

But for whatever shortcomings might be there, the film made up for it with the young actors that were the real subjects of the story. The cast, including Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, and Josh Charles, is extraordinary. They manage to make more than a few hokey scenes believable, playing teenagers you can identify with.

After nearly an hour of film, as I neared the point of dismissing the entire movie as trite and false, things suddenly took a major upswing as Robert Sean Leonard's character took center stage. The real meat of the plot arrived at last, as he discovers a love of acting, and pursues it despite the express orders of his unyielding and demanding father (played wonderfully by Kurtwood Smith).

The back half of the movie was then exceptional, with each outstanding scene greater than the last, building to a truly emotional climax. You feel every bit of the pain of a young man who just doesn't know how to talk to his father, how to be understood for who he is.

For the final scene, the movie regresses a touch, with a Hollywood-esque, overly sentimental moment focused back on the Robin Williams character. Still, the film has now soared to heights too great to fall completely. Ultimately, despite any flaws in the film (which, judging from most opinions I've seen, other people don't even notice or agree with), it's still well worth seeing. I rate it a B.