Movie Name: Dead Poets Society
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Cast: Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard
Director: Peter Weir
Year Of Release: 1989
What it is about:
Welton Academy is an all male, elite prep school. One of Welton's most promising students, Neil Perry is assigned the shy Todd Anderson as his roommate. Neil's friends accept Todd as their own soon enough. A new English teacher, a Welton alumnus, John Keating, arrives with his unorthodox teaching methods and encourages his students to make their lives extraordinary and asks them to follow the principle of Carpe Diem. His methods of teaching include having them take turns standing on his desk to making them develop their own style of walking in the courtyard encouraging them to find themselves as individuals. When Neil learns that Keating was a member of the unsanctioned Dead Poets Society while he was at Welton, Neil restarts the club and he and his friends sneak off campus to a cave where they read poetry and verse, including their own compositions. As school progresses, the boys learn a lot from Keating about life and living it on their own terms. This doesn't go down well on the strict headmaster Gale Nolan who warns Keating about encouraging the students to question authority.
Neil soon discovers his love for acting and takes part in a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, despite the fact that his domineering father wants him in the Ivy League and not focusing on extra-curricular activities. Meanwhile, Keating helps Todd come out of his shell and realizing his own potential, he composes an impromptu poem in front of his class. When Neil's father discovers Neil's involvement in the play, he forces him to quit on the eve of the opening performance. When Neil reaches out to Keating for help, he advises him to stay true to his passion and prove to his father that this is something he wants to pursue seriously and Neil goes ahead with the play. Soon, a tragedy occurs that puts Keating to blame. Will the students stand up for their favorite teacher?
What I loved about it:
The first time I saw this movie, it just blew my mind. This movie has nothing great, it just talks about embracing life and living it on your own terms. It also talks about the magic and beauty of poetry and creativity. This movie has a lesson for every one of us. Robin Williams is in his true element in this movie and the way he interacts with his students is so natural and genuine. The boys are cast perfectly and Ethan Hawke is a charm as the shy Todd, the son who is trying to live up to the expectations of his parents. Robert Sean as Neil does a splendid job too, but it is Robin Williams who steals the show with his command on poetry and his easy expressions. I'm surprised he didn't win an Oscar for this, he was nominated though.
The story is brilliant even though I know of quite some people who have found this movie to be slow and boring. As for me, I can watch this movie any number of times and still be as amazed as I was the first time. The dialogues of this movie can be complied to create an inspirational book that I'm sure will be a best seller. We all need to watch this movie at least once. I've seen it more than fifteen times till date and I'm still not done with it.
Runners-up: The Dark Knight (English), Drishyam (Malayalam), Due Date (English).
This post is a part of the A To Z Challenge for April, where my theme for this year is Movies I Love.
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