Dead Poets Society: Critic Reviews

The movie undercuts Mr. Williams's exceptionally fine performance, making the character seem more of a dubious fool than is probably intended.

It's a literate though strained uplifter, a not altogether compatible coupleting of Rocky Balboa and the Bard.

Solid, smart entertainment.

Not the worst of the countless recent movies about good kids and hidebound, authoritatian older people. It may, however, be the most shameless in its attempt to pander to an adolescent audience.

The moral divisions set up between characters are childishly overdrawn; and, worst of all, the behavior shown by the boys and adults frequently reeks of falsity and contrivance.

Story sings whenever Williams is onscreen. Screen belongs just as often to Leonard, who as Neil has a quality of darting confidence mixed with hesitancy. Hawke, as the painfully shy Todd, gives a haunting performance.

Williams, who has comparatively little screen time, has come to act, not to cut comic riffs, and he does so with forceful, ultimately compelling, simplicity.

Falters when it goes for too much heart-tugging manipulation.

Spell-casting film of a teacher to troubled boys.

Beautifully directed and with an Oscar-winning story.

A film that celebrates the importance of inspiration, albeit in slightly affected fashion.

A bundle of growing pain blues, flamboyant declarations of self, and doomsday faculty foul-ups, and it cooks when delivered in big batches of adolescent passion.

Watch "Dead Poets Society" and you'll see the efforts of a filmmaker who has his own loving style in making movies.

Though sentimental and contrived, this valentine to charismatic, dedicated teachers is extremely well acted (even by Robin Williams) and it does make you feel good about loving literature and poetry.

Above average drama that put Robin Williams on dramatic actor map.

Robin Williams at his tolerable best.

The role of Keating is a plum assignment for the talented Williams, who largely steers clear of schtick under Peter Weir's direction. Nicely shot with a good youthful cast.

Part of what makes Dead Poet's Society so great is that it challenges you to think. It can inspire you to be more than a simple cog in a wheel.

Tom Schulman's heartfelt script takes the main character's relationships with Keating above and beyond the usual student-teacher connection.

Weir infuses the film with his customary mysticism, but more importantly, draws sensitive performances from his largely inexperienced cast.

As consistent and nearly as understated a performance as Robin Williams would give later in Good Will Hunting.

For all its formula, it sure does feel like Dead Poets Society comes from a sincere place.

Dead Poets Society adds little to the genre that hasn't been said before and aims, instead, at familiar stereotypes and overly obvious tugs at the heartstrings.

It's best left as a fond memory, never to be held up to the light of day.