In honor of Robin Williams passing this week, I wanted to share my favorite of Mr. Williams’ films. His humor and exuberance was contagious. I don’t know what took him down the road of taking his own life, I only know that I am saddened to hear of his departure and know that the world is a little less happy with him out of it. Let his life and death be a reminder that even those with the largest smiles on their faces may be dealing with the darkest matters on the inside. If you are dealing with depression, please tell someone about it, get help, you are not alone.
Dead Poets Society takes place in the halls and fields of Welton Academy, a straight-laced prep school. During the opening ceremony, we see students carrying banners displaying the principles of Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence. This serves two major purposes: it introduces the main characters and establishes the rigid environment which they are about to enter. Robin Williams plays John Keating a bright eyed literature teacher returning to his alma mater, he bucks against the traditions and conservative administrators and parents when he encourages his literature students to “Carpe Diem!”
Before I go any further, I should make it clear that there will be SPOILERS AHEAD. If you have somehow missed this classic, then stop here and go watch it. Bring tissues and be prepared to be moved.
New arrival Todd Anderson (played by a young and exceptional Ethan Hawke) feels ill equipped to walk in the footsteps of his brother who gained notoriety at the academy. His roommate is the lively Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) whose career path has been mapped out by a domineering father. Neil is one of leaders of a study group involving playboy Charlie Dalton, Judas-in-the-making Richard Cameron, gentle giant Steven Meeks, and the girl-crazy but romantically-challenged Knox Overstreet.
When the boys gather for their first English Literature class of the new term a strange thing occurs: The new teacher circles the room and then promptly leaves, beckoning them to follow him. Their academic lives at Welton will be changed forever and not by the structure and routine which have trained so many who have sat in those seats before them.
John Keating literally takes his students out of the classroom and introduces them to the world and themselves through the power of poetry and self-discovery. Curious about what this unique educator was like in his time at “Hellton” as they have nicknamed the school, Neil and his buddies find out Keating was at one time part of a secret literary fraternity known as the Dead Poets Society. Their late night gatherings involved assembling in a candle-lit cave where members would entertain one another by reading aloud favorite literary passages. This was more than a bunch of guys reading poetry, it was a group of boys becoming men and learning how to suck the marrow out of life.
The allure of embracing this new yet profoundly old tradition proves to be too much to refuse; the Dead Poets Society is reborn. Things quickly begin to change, Neil decides to go behind his father’s back to pursue his heart’s desire – acting. Knox gathers the courage to woo the girl of his dreams, and Todd begins to think that there might be something of worth inside of him. All was well until their most brash and vocal member Charlie, who later takes on the mantle of Nuwanda, writes and publishes an article as a member of their heretofore secret society in the school quarterly demanding that the school become a co-ed institution.
Not surprisingly, the school administration does not take kindly to this overt attack on their touted academic tradition. Charlie Nuwanda is summoned before an inquiry and holds his tongue declaring that he acted alone. But when Neil’s father learns of his son’s unsanctioned theatrical performance, he demands that he withdraw from the play the day before opening night. Despite Keating’s urging Neil to speak to his father and open his heart to him, he once again defies him and delivers a stellar performance as Shakespeare’s Puck. Instead of realizing the importance of acting to Neil, the infuriated father only sees a defiant son fettering away his life with a frivolous pursuit. He makes arrangements for his son to withdraw from Welton and transfer to a military college. Devastated, Neil loses all sense of hope and in a bone-chilling sequence, we learn along with his parents and friends that Neil has taken his life.
When Todd, the least assuming and most muted of all the friends, learns of Neil’s fate, he is overcome with emotion and runs out into a snowstorm which has enveloped the campus. The shivering actor Ethan Hawke in the bleak white surroundings dressed only in his pajamas remarks at the beauty of the storm as he breaks down. The magnitude of the tragedy is further heightened as the five actors playing his traumatized classmates follow him in an attempt to console him. It is painful to watch as they weep in the snow, there before the face of God, having just tasted life and now too soon have felt the sting of death.
With Welton rocked to its academic foundations by Neil’s suicide and with the board of trustees needing a scapegoat on which to blame this tragic loss, Cameron hands Keating on a silver platter to the school administrators. One by one, each of the remaining society members are called up and forced by the administrators and their parents to sign off on a fabricated statement declaring Keating’s negligence and guidance as the root cause of their friend’s death. Keating is done, and in a very messianic way, he does not protest, but accepts his fate, leaving in almost silence.
In the epic final scene of the film, Todd finally plucks up the courage to break out of his shell. Just as Mr. Keating is leaving after he collected his belongings for the last time. Todd stands upon his desk and addresses the man who taught him so much in so little time by calling him, “Oh Captain, My Captain” a Walt Whitman phrase which Keating had accepted as a title. The dramatic effect of Todd’s spontaneous action is heartbreaking and inspirational. One by one, many other students join, despite threats from their headmaster, to salute their beloved teacher and friend.
Too often, these types of inspirational teacher movies are too on-the-nose and come across as hokey and sentimental, but under the skilled direction of Australian film-maker Peter Weir and a bitter sweet dramatic performance by Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society rises above the mediocrity. I believe that Peter Weir has a gift for directing comedians in serious roles. As he would do later with The Truman Show and Jim Carrey, Peter Weir was able to channel the dizzying comic energy of Robin Williams into an Oscar nominated performance. Also, we see the chemistry that exists between these budding men because Peter Weir filmed the scenes in chronological order and had the young thespians room together in order to build those relationships. John Keating’s rallying cry should spur us all on to reach for our dreams and be anything but mediocre. “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”