Title: Won’t Back Down
Directed by: Daniel Barnz
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: September 28, 2012
Rated: PG
Synopsis: Two determined mothers, one a teacher, look to transform their children’s failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.(Via IMDB)
Shaunta’s Review: I have a kid who has autism, and I’m pretty familiar with the frustration that comes with banging your head against the wall of a public education system that just isn’t working him.
Won’t Back Down does a really good job of capturing that overwhelming sense of hopelessness when your kid is stuck in an under-performing school, with burned out teachers. It also provides a sense of hope that, no matter how hard it is, maybe there is something that can be done about it.
There is a scene in the movie where the woman from the union takes Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character to a gorgeous private school and promises her daughter a spot there, if only she’ll stop her efforts to take over the public school her daughter attends. That scene really highlights the gap between what the wealthy can provide for their children that the poor can’t.
This movie is getting some flack for it’s anti-union stance. I agree that this film is a little black and white. The bad guys are purely evil. The principal puts his job above his students. The union rep says that he’ll care about students when they pay union dues. And the good guys are really, really good. A little gray would have been good here, for sure.
But over all, Won’t Back Down highlights the real problems in the educational system and the real need for reform. When Holly Hunter’s character leaves the union at the end to go back to teaching, I wanted to hug her. As a parent who has sent her children to some really fantastic charter schools when the local public school wasn’t working for them, I appreciate this movie opening a dialog about how parent choice and charter schools can make a difference. I really enjoyed this movie.
