Anything is Possible

The movies Freedom Writers and Capote are two completely different movies in the sense of the genre, topics, and the actions portrayed throughout the film. Capote is about the investigation by Truman Capote about the murder of a family for his soon-to-be-famous book which, at the end, tears him apart emotionally. While Freedom Writers is a story about how a teacher affects the lives of her students, who thought they could do nothing better in life than just try to survive day to day, and how they also change her life as well. Although these true stories seem to have nothing in common, they contain similar ideas and messages that make the viewer realize that by being determined a person can pretty much accomplish anything.

Comparing these two movies one sees that both of the main characters love what they do, and they fall in love in the process. One could practically say that they fall in love with their “projects,” but in different ways. Capote falls in love with the guy who committed the family murder and talks to him in order to get the story straight, with all the right details, for his book. He connects with the convict through their conversations, their likes, and their thoughts. He also relates with his past and turns this work-relationship into a friendship, and perhaps even more. Although it’s strange for him to fall in love with someone who has done such a terrible thing, he is a peculiar guy and finds all of this comforting.
Mrs. Gruwell, the teacher in Freedom Writers, falls in love with her students, but in a family sort of way. She becomes close to these kids because she realizes the struggles they’re going through and she is determined to create a way for them to forget their problems and to make an effort for a better life. Unlike Capote’s case, which is not clear if the killer loved him in return, Mrs. Gruwell’s students appreciated and loved her in the end.

Although they were both successful with their goals, Capote getting In Cold Blood published and Mrs. Gruwell having a great start with the beginning of her teaching career and helping these kids see their potential, they both had to make sacrifices. Capote practically sacrifices his life, he uses eight years to write this book, falls in love with someone who at the end was sentenced to die, writes no successful books after this one, and becomes an alcoholic which, in the end, causes his death. Mrs. Gruwell also makes sacrifices, although not as drastic as Capote. It causes her marriage to fail, which may have been for the best, and it also puts her life and job at risk.

At the end, these two movies show how being determined can make you realize your goals. Even though others try to put you down or don’t believe you can make it, if you try hard enough you can accomplish anything you want. But with every good comes a bad, the question is if it is worth it.