Won't Back Down (2012)

There are movies that come along based on inspirational stories and usually manage to deliver just on the story itself. When you give them a bit of a budget and some great actors then you have the possibility of creating something special. The latest film takes on the rarely talked about in film issue of education in Won't Back Down. With Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis leading the way could there be any chance this film doesn't work?

Won't Back Down follows two determined mothers whose children are failing in an inner city school, who team up to take back the school and turn it into a place of learning. Before they are able to change the school, they have to battle the parents, school board, and teachers union. While this isn't an actual true story like a lot of these films, it is based on various incidents of its kind. They don't break any molds or do anything that hasn't been done in some way before, but what is refreshing is who is under fire in this story, the education itself as opposed to those struggling to learn. The performances are all great and the movie works fine, but there is just something missing that most of these films have to really suck you in and that's that moment where those fighting the losing battle deliver a memorable moment that turns things around. Most likely trying to shove that into this story would have felt forced and cliché, it just lacked that needed punch to add the extra passion to make the movie step out of just another in a line of inspirational stories.

Make no mistake, this is a great movie, but isn't breaking any ground. If you enjoy these sorts of stories then you should check it out. Thanks to the two leads it takes a film that could have been pretty generic and turned it into something really good. If these two great actresses aren't enough to suck you in, the film also sports a great supporting cast as well including Ving Rhames, Holly Hunter, Rosie Perez and Bill Nunn so there is bound to be someone in there to peak your interest.

Fmovies: A single mother(Maggie Gyllenhaal) who has two jobs, and is struggling to make ends meat for her and her daughter. Her daughter has a learning disability, and discovers that she is being treated unfairly at her school because of it, she goes to the school to talk to the principal, but with no luck. Can't stand to see her daughter suffer, and does not want to just do nothing, so she organizes a petition in hopes to make the school a better place for learning, with of a teacher(Viola Davis). But will they win this fight?

Magge Gyllenhaal is great, not quite Oscar worthy, but still great. Now Viola Davis performance was Oscar worthy, if the academy does not nominate her, I'll cry. They both have great chemistry. And supporting players do well also like Holly Hunter, and Oscar Issac. Some teachers need to see this film, in hopes of reminding them of what's important. Great film.

Don't waste your time on this hackneyed, sloppy, simple-minded look at the education system in the U.S.. Although there are plenty of things to be annoyed, even outraged, about with regard to how children (especially low income ones) are educated in the U.S., you won't get any real insights into the complexity of the situation from this silly film. You'll just get aggravated regardless of which side of the issue you come down on. The only good thing about the film was Viola Davis' performance for the most part, but even she had several scenes that were royal clinkers, perhaps due to the pile of clichés masquerading as a script. Everyone else was either miscast, misdirected or just laughably one dimensional. Maggie Gyllenhaal was thoroughly embarrassingly over the top in such a bad way. Perhaps this was just a paycheck as the film was financed by people who hope to destroy the free education system in this country. This film certainly didn't bring any clarity or real humanity to the discussion.

Won't Back Down fmovies. A two-hour-long movie would be expected to have its high points and low points, but KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Anthony Aranda says his favorite "part" is, actually, the entire two hours. The 10-year-old sees this as a film that, he says, "can teach people a lot."

And this Twentieth Century Fox release has sparked some discussion by parents who, also, want to make sure their kids' schools are the best they can be. In today's economic climate of budget cuts, it's a strong reminder of how important education is.

Won't Back Down Reviewed by Anthony Aranda See his full review on video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR_M4vA7r20

This movie is awesome. I love it because it has lots of emotion and it's all because a kid has a terrible school and needs a new one so his mom and a teacher help, and I think that is great.

This movie is all about a kid who has a terrible school. So her mom and a teacher who works at the school NEWSLETTER BREAK think it's a bad school, so they go against the school to try to make a better one. They have to go through a lot to help the mom's daughter as well as the other kids at the school.

Some of the main characters in the movie are Jamie (the mom, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal), Malia (the daughter, played by Emily Alyn Lind), Nona and Michael. My favorite character is Jamie because she cares so much about her daughter that she works very hard to make a new school for her daughter and to shut down the other school named Adams. How she does this is by writing down tons of paperwork, and instead of sleeping she has to go to every house to see if they could team up with her. Luckily, she has a partner named Nona.

I could not pick a favorite part because the movie is so good that the whole movie is my favorite part. If I have to pick a favorite, I would probably say when Jamie has a big party to try to convince people to go against the school. There are cookies, a news team, shirts, FREE rulers and, to top it all off, Jamie gives a speech on why they should shut down Adams and build a new school.

I would recommend this movie for ages 7 and up because it's really made for an older audience. I still like it a lot and I think that my brother might like it, too, and he's 7, so 7 and up is good. The moral of the movie is really good and can teach people a lot. Go out and see this movie; it comes out in theaters on Sept. 28.

Ignore the claims of shallow character development, predictable plot, over the top performances. If you have children in urban or suburban public schools, you know they are failing your children, and that the big city school bureaucracy is unable to change fast enough to help your children. If you have tried to improve your child's school, you will know this movie is true, you will cry in recognition of kindred souls, you will be energized to keep trying. Go see it.

In our situation, we have some public school choice within our county system. Our older child (4th-graders) was selected by lottery to go to a magnet school for high achievers. Our younger twins (2nd-graders), did not get selected in the lotteries we put them into. So we pulled them out and put them into a new (year-old) hybrid "brick and mortar" / cyber academy. On-site teachers work in conjunction with on-line teachers, using the K-12 online learning platform to deliver the state school curriculum. My wife and I are excited about this model, although it is more work for us as it includes daily monitored online involvement with each child's learning activities and interaction with their teachers, plus volunteer commitment at the brick and mortar school. There is opportunity for more-individual pacing of learning, and more-flexible school-day requirements.

While the actors in this film tug at our hearts, the force feeding of incomplete perspective causes one to question: Are we watching a screen play or are we getting played? The bad guys are too bad, and the good guys are too good. The film is also unbelievable in that the parents are without any alternatives but a drastic one. I left the theater with a disturbing feeling, not about our schools, but about the integrity of the producers, writers and director. The opening should have a SUPER that reads, A paid political announcement. You can get your money back from the management. What a waste of effort on such a timely issue as the quality of our children's education. So in the end a story about two caring women and their struggle to fix their school, is about a billionaire fixing the audience, truly an exploitation film.