Dead Poets Society absolutely blew me away.

I had never seen Dead Poets Society before, but after the passing of Robin Williams, I decided to review a film of his that I already loved (Good Will Hunting) and see one I had not previously viewed. I would say Dead Poets Society is at the caliber of Good Will Hunting, if not above it.

The formula to this movie is very overused, but it’s brought to new light in this 1989 film. When watching Dead Poets Society for the first half-hour, I saw it a lot like The Breakfast Club, which is a compliment since Breakfast Club is one of my favorite films. Then the next hour-and-a-half became something unique entirely.

The acting in this movie is phenomenal. I still hold that Good Will Hunting is my favorite performance from Robin Williams, but this is no doubt a close second. His character is really well-established in this movie, though Mr. Keating isn’t really the main character. The main characters are this ensemble of boys that go to the prep school Robin Williams teaches at. This ensemble is pretty likable, and really relatable to me, since I go to a private, all-boys school. When you’re first watching the movie, at least for the first 20 minutes, you’re trying to figure out who each one is, but then after that you remember each character.

The plot in this movie definitely has some clichés, which makes sense as it’s 25 years old. As I said, the first half-hour or so reminded me of a John Hughes film, but then it does become something different, in a darker way. The movie has a lot of deep themes running throughout it too, not just ‘friendship’ and ‘trust’.

This is a really short review because there isn’t much wrong with the movie, and I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys. The best review I can give of the movie is the score. Because Dead Poets Society is…

A 5/5