Lean On Me (1989)

 Movie Review

Lean On Me (1989)

By: Blessed Nevin 2022510036, AI/DS

To: Dr.Maya

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Summary

Lean on Me is a movie starring Morgan Freeman as a stern and capable school principal, who strives to bring about positive change in any situation that he is placed in. Ironically, his black and white system of rules leads to his eventual downfall.

A Detailed Retrospective

We are presented with Morgan Freeman’s character Clark teaching a class of students about American history. He is later left out of a union meeting, where the ultimatum is an order for his transfer to another school. 

Then we fast forward to 20 years in the future, around 1987. Clark is now the Principal of the school. We are not given much information about his career here, as he is soon approached by the subordinates of the Mayor of East Side, who offer him an opportunity to take position as the Principal of the school of East Side. He is initially sternly reluctant, but later budges, as the school really needs him due to the rising failure rates of the students.

East Side is introduced with carefully thought out brutalist shots of the out-of-control and degrading culture present here. Drug deals, arms, and detrimental acts such as smoking are a part of the school. This culture places the school in the lowest slots of the school ranking system. The school is mainly comprised of African-American students. 

Clark brings his stern persona to the school and rules are instantly put into place. Clark does not keep exceptions for the teachers who work under him. He is firm with his words and makes sure that every person in the school premises contributes to it’s betterment in one way or the other. He soon becomes one with the school’s community, making bonds with all the teachers and their students.

An important event occurs when an outsider who had been expelled from the school intrudes and gets into a brawl with one of the students. Clark takes immediate action and locks all the doors of the school to prevent anyone from entering.

This move being illegal, gathers the attention of a few parents. The Fire Chief makes it clear to Clark that this is a fire safety violation but Clark’s firm judgment clouds his way of lawful thinking and he adamantly sticks to locking the doors. However, to prevent himself from getting arrested, he arranges a protocol to unchain the doors whenever an officer arrives for checking. 

Eventually, he is caught in the act and imprisoned. The students turn out to grow individually in his tenure and manage to increase the passing rate of the school substantially. These students form a mob to demand Mr.Clark to be released, as his actions were for the children’s safety, even though they were illegal. Thus, in the end, we see Clark smile properly for the first time in the movie, where he knows that his work has paid off.