Brody M
In Dead Poets Society, Peter Weir offers a coming of age classic. The movie follows Mr. John Keating and his class at an all boys prep school as Keating attempts to inspire free thought and independence in his students through unusual teaching methods. While some of the child actors seem a little corny, Robin Williams’s performance as John Keating is incredible. In addition to this, the actors for Todd Anderson and Neil Perry are excellent. While special effects are not heavily employed in this movie, they are used tastefully to enhance certain scenes, such as the owl startling the boys as they venture through the forest. Similarly, the score is non-invasive and complements the action on the screen. But what makes this movie so special is Peter Weir's direction of the excellent script, themes, and cinematography. The script poses Keating as the only adult who understands the importance of living life to the fullest, a theme prominent in this film. The cinematography effectively frames him as an ally, whereas other adults like Nolan are oppressive and large when on the screen. Ultimately, Dead Poets Society is a classic and must watch for anyone who has ever been a teenager.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
05/30/25
Full Review
Keira D
The film “Dead Poets Society” directed by Peter Weir tells the story of a group of young boys at Welton Academy, a boarding school for young men, and the role their English teacher, Mr. Keating has on their lives—both academically, socially, and emotionally. The film is a powerful coming of age story—that depicts the struggles and triumphs each one of these boys’ faces in their pursuit of varying ambitions. For some, these ambitions include pleasing their parents and excelling academically, for others it is pursuing their passions, falling in love, or simply finding the courage and words to express themselves. The film’s gorgeous setting depicted through the grounds of Welton Academy perfectly encapsulates the romantic, hazy, and nostalgic memory of adolescence and the particular experience of boyhood in the late 1950’s that the story is intended to convey. I write this review having watched the film for what I believe is my fifth time, and I am surprised each viewing to find a different aspect of the story particularly touching to me. The film closely follows one of the boys in particular, Neil, who is struggling to pursue his passions in acting and literature, while his father discourages him in doing so in fear that it will distract him from the future he has planned for him in medicine. Though I always feel for Neil in the tragedy of his suicide, the depth of his depression in not being able to pursue his passions, this time around I felt myself connecting more with Tod, who struggles to find the courage to share his voice, having lived most of his life in the silent, lonely shadow of his successful older brother. I was particularly struck by Todd’s growth as the film progressed, how in a short scene in which Todd is getting ready with the other boys to go watch Neil perform in his play, he has more color in his cheeks—and not the kind of color that arises as a result of shame or embarrassment—but the kind that comes from laughter, excitement, and elation. Todd found a sense of confidence as he poked fun at the other boys around him, and received the same playful insults at ease. To see the power brought about by friendship, art, and literature is not only incredibly moving, but also incredibly personal. Mr. Keating’s class offered the boys at Welton Academy an outlet, not only to express themselves in ways they often were unable to, but also to find power and confidence that they had otherwise come to believe they were unworthy of or unable to achieve. This is one of my favorite films for a reason—an easy 5 stars.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/29/25
Full Review
Jacob G
Dead Poets Society serves as an inspiring message to teens in order to aspire and find their own identities. It also helps convey the value of each life, especially in its unseen rippling impacts. The movie deals with intense themes but overall struck me as a feel-good movie. I enjoy the passion of the teacher and his ability to connect with the students is admirable. Some parts are definitely outdated but it wasn’t anything that overshadowed the value of the movie. The acting is incredible and each character felt very authentic.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
05/29/25
Full Review
Reilley D
The “Dead Poets Society”, while not being my favorite movie, is certainly a great movie with a trifecta of good things going for it, good acting, good visuals, and good music. The movie starts out with us being introduced to the main group characters on their first day back at Welton Academy, a high class preparatory school. In this short moment of the story we are enlightened to the main characteristics of these characters and the problems that they will face later down the road, like Todd’s shyness and reclusive nature and Neil’s problem with his father’s micromanagement of his life. We are then introduced to the new professor Mr. Keating, who was a previous student of the academy and a renowned English teacher. The audience immediately knows that he is not your typical teacher, walking his class over to picture in the hallway, and telling his class on their first day that they should believe in “Carpe Diem” or seizing the day, and would later push his students to think more independently. The main cast of characters then stumble upon Mr.Keating’s “Dead Poet Society” and then take it upon themselves to start it up again, allowing themselves to explore their imagination and thoughts. Neil also decides to disregard his father’s wishes and audition for a play, showing his growing independence and the influence that Mr. Keating’s teachings had on him. Sadly though the movie ends on a bittersweet note with committing suicide after his father decided to send him to military school for disobeying his orders, leading to Mr. Keating being fired, but all was not in vain as Todd and few others decide to send off Mr. Keating in solidarity by standing on their desks and saying “Captain my Captain”. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie but it did have two scenes that I thought were strange and off putting, one was the paddle scene with the Principle and Knox Overstreet and the other was when Charlie kissed that girl while she was unconscious at the part which I felt was very uncomfortable, but other then that it was a great movie that I would recommend and watch again.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
05/29/25
Full Review
Joseph S
“Dead Poets Society”, directed by Peter Weir, tells the story of a tight knit group of young men at a preparatory school in the 1950s whose lives, both in school and out, are transformed by the arrival of a new English teacher who awakens in them a romantic spirit that leads them to continue the legacy of the Dead Poets Society, a group dedicated to reading and performing poetry. This movie beautifully and uniquely ties together coming of age film elements with themes of romanticism in the everyday lives of the young men, such as love, individualism, death, grief, and camaraderie. Each of the main characters in the movie is written with depth and meaning, most notably Neil, a kind hearted and courageous individual whose passion for acting and poetry ultimately leads to his tragic death, and Mr. Keating, the inspiring and enlightened English teacher whose passions for literature and for life in general inspired his eager students. The cinematography was simple yet beautiful, the backdrop of the old gothic style school overlooking a lake enhanced the romantic themes of the movie. Through these compelling characters and their experiences we see themes of camaraderie through hardship, indomitable love, grief, conformity vs. individualism, and of course a general zest for life that we see through the phrase of “carpe diem”, to quote the Dead Poets. Overall I found the movie to have a unique emotional magic to it unlike any other movie I have seen, making it a truly timeless and compelling film that people from all ages and genders (despite the limited amount of female characters) can gain something from. Dead Poets Society is one of those movies that you will never forget watching for the first time. Bonus points for making me tear up multiple times.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/28/25
Full Review
Kaiya b
Dead Poets Society is a heart-wrenching film about a small group of young male students at a prestigious all-male institution. Though they were set for success from birth with their lives fully planned for them, their sense of self is completely lost as it has always been dictated for them. With the help of their English teacher, Mr. Keating, the boys are taught the value of art, romance, and passion to a fault. Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard carried the film beautifully. In fact, every actor featured in the film expressed a level of excellence via emotion, character development, and physical acting that allowed all audiences to make connections with their characters. Peter Weir’s direction was outstanding. Weir, with the help of the cast, brought the film to life, displaying each student’s metamorphosis into poetic beings in an intricate and beautiful way. The screenwriter, Tom Schulman, displayed his writing mastery in the sequence of this film, drawing the emotion out of literature through spoken word, and so tragically connecting these texts to the fate of main character Neil Perry. The cinematography of this piece was quite gorgeous. The school that the students attended reflected the prestigious and strict nature of the administration and parents well. The shots taken and the angles used in these shots were well put together, and the choices made when depicting Neil’s suicide were respectful while also conveying the weight of the situation. The theme of the movie preaches the importance of passion, self expression and the influence of literature. Overall, the theme was captured in a way that leaves the audience with an experience that they will never forget. The entire movie centers itself around these themes, as Mr. Keating’s literal curriculum in many of the scenes are the lessons taught throughout the film, but explicitly stated. The turnaround from Mr. Keating’s class to these lessons applied to the students’ lives is devastating, perfectly expressing that, without art, human life is incomplete.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
05/28/25
Full Review
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