Summary:
An English teacher at a prestigious preparatory school inspires his students to look at the world in a different light.
My Thoughts:
Long before I had seen this film I knew of the most famous scene, that being the “Oh, captain, my captain” scene, and I’ve seen the phrase ‘Carpe Diem’ scribbled on whiteboards ever since I was a wee little lad in grade school. This film was ingrained in our culture before I entered the world (I know, I’m so young!), so I’ve never known a world without the ideas presented by so brilliantly and succinctly by John Keating (Robin Williams, “The Fisher King”). If I had seen this film probably ten years ago, during the days of my youth when I was still searching for authors who could better put into words how I felt about the world, this film probably would’ve been a five star movie for me, but now, in the post-#Me Too era there are a few issues that come to light, and I also found there was a bit too much melodrama in the third act for my taste.
As a whole however, this film is a wonderful work of art that has themes that I so agree with that I could sing about them from the top of a mountain. I’ve often quoted Franz Kafka on the TMM Podcast, specifically one of his more famous quotes, which is: “A book must be an axe for the frozen sea inside us,” meaning that good fiction should chip away at us, soften us, make us reconsider our own thoughts and ideas… I think that the same quote could be ascribed to films as well (or any art form, for that matter). Great films challenge me, and this film tries its darndest to do just that. I think this film that, thirty years after its release, just falls short of being Peter Weir’s masterpiece (you just can’t beat “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, in my opinion).
“Gather ye rosebuds as ye may.”
A new professor at a prestigious prep school, John Keating (Williams), causes quite a stir at the school, which prides itself in keeping with tradition, by teaching his students not to conform, but to think freely. While Keating’s new methods play a huge role in helping the boys to come out of their shells, his teaching has a particular effect on the lives of Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard, “The Age of Innocence”), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke, “First Reformed”), and Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles, “Four Brothers”).
The themes are what I love most about this movie: this movie tells us over and over again that we are doomed to die and that, while we’re here, we have to make the most of that time. Weir is trying to show us that mankind is ever moving forward, and we are all contributing to greater knowledge, greater understanding of the world around us. In the words of Walt Whitman, “The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” His first shot of this film is of an old painting of schoolboys, and then the camera shifts to show photos being taken of students. In this brief sequence, Weir establishes a few things. The first thing is that he shows us that though tradition still rings true in the halls of the school, times have changed (times are always changing); man is progressing technologically. But in showing us those portraits of the young schoolboys, Weir also sets up for another later scene, when Keating takes his students out to look at pictures of boys who once attended their very school and who are all now long dead. As the camera pans slowly over their youthful faces, Keating urges them, “Carpe Diem”… Our time here is brief; the only thing to do is seize the day with everything we have and fight for what we believe in, further the causes we hold dearest.
I love the fact that the Dead Poets Society meets in a cave. As I’ve already mentioned, it feels as if Weir is constantly making allusions to the fact that art is pushing us forward, and by placing the characters in a damp and musty cave, it brings to mind the idea of cavemen. Without the advancement of art (and, yes, science) would we have ever ventured forth from our caves? As Tarkovsky said, art is a yearning for the ideal- without art- without a yearning for something better, humankind could’ve been doomed to forever dwell amongst the beasts of the world. It places so much importance on art, and I personally, think the gravity he places on art is well founded.
Keating tries to get the boys to slow down and really think about the words they’re hearing, he acts out Shakespeare with different voices so they can really see the humor in it, and in doing so he addresses the dangers of blind conformity. Keating seems to believe that lyrical prose is the purest art form, one that can alter the state of ones’ soul after a single reading; I tend to agree with him. I think a good poem could change the world, if people would only take the time to listen to it. Look at the poems of Bukowski, of Sylvia Plath, of Kurt Vonnegut and even, more recently, the work of Rupi Kaur- all of them have a yearning for life that most of us can only dream of; this film is asking us to aspire to the greatest of humankind, and that is a fantastic aspiration.
The themes and lessons this film teaches are what makes it great, but there are few things that irked me about it. For one thing, Knox Overstreet’s character is extremely forward with a girl who has a boyfriend and continuously rejects his advances; nevertheless, Overstreet continues to pursue her, to the point where he becomes a stalker. The way this film portrays Overstreet’s questing after her is in a rather positive light, as if to say, “It doesn’t really matter what the girl wants, if you want it bad enough, she’ll eventually give in.” Ew. Just typing that last sentence made me feel gross. The character feels completely out of place in the post #Me Too era, and honestly it made me wonder why anyone thought his character was a good person.
My biggest qualm with this film actually comes towards the end of the film, and here I have to throw up a bit of a SPOILER TAG. Throughout the movie, Neil finds himself growing more and more interested in theater (mostly because of Keating’s influence), and eventually, against the wishes of his father (played by Kurtwood Smith, “Robocop”), he tries out for A Midsummer Nights Dream. After the play, Neil’s father berates him for making a fool of himself, and orders him to stop performing. Instead of disobeying his father (or waiting a year until he was eighteen and could make his own decisions), Neil kills himself. I understand, from the point of a story, why Neil had to kill himself- it’s poetic, and it fits the themes of this movie beautifully (“When I came to die I discovered I had not yet lived”- Thoreau), but… from a character standpoint, I don’t buy it. Neil is in one play, and afterwards he’s so much of a drama queen that he kills himself? Really?
From there the film also becomes a bit predictable, though, I must admit, the final rousing scene did a ton to redeem the more melodramatic and predictable parts.
Verdict:
Overall I really enjoyed this film, and I honestly think that Robin Williams could’ve won an Oscar for this movie over “Good Will Hunting” (funnily enough, in both he plays fatherly professors). While some scenes feel a bit out of date, I think most of this film will ring true for ages to come. The Dead Poets have spoken truths few have dared to speak and they’ve done it in ways that few have dared to dream. This film is not only a love letter to the great writers of human history, but it’s also a pleading with man to try their best; both are noble causes.
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