Won't Back Down (2012)

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.

Director:

Daniel Barnz

Writers:

Brin Hill, Daniel Barnz

Stars:

Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holly Hunter

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Jamie Fitzpatrick
Viola Davis	...	Nona Alberts
Oscar Isaac	...	Michael Perry
Holly Hunter	...	Evelyn Riske
Rosie Perez	...	Breena Harper
Emily Alyn Lind	...	Malia Fitzpatrick
Dante Brown	...	Cody Alberts
Lance Reddick	...	Charles Alberts
Ving Rhames	...	Principal Thompson
Bill Nunn	...	Principal Holland
Ned Eisenberg	...	Arthur Gould
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Olivia Lopez
Liza Colón-Zayas	...	Yvonne
Nancy Bach	...	Deborah
Keith Flippen	...	Ben

Storyline

Two determined mothers with children who are failing in an inner city school in Pittsburgh join forces to take back the school, and turn it into a place of learning. But before they can change the school for the better, they must first battle the parents, the school board, and the teachers union. Because this is for their children, they won't back down from this enormous challenge.

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Plot Keywords:

school | children | teacher | inner city | parent | 

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Taglines:

If you can't beat the system... change it

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Learning to Fly

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,603,370, 30 September 2012

Gross USA:

$5,310,554

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,378,228

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walden Media, Gran Via Productions, Lemodeln Model & Talent Agency

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Oscar Isaac's character is very inspired by music, notably Johnny Cash. He would later go on to play a musician in Inside Llewyn Davis.

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Quotes

Jamie Fitzpatrick: I've just never been able to talk smart people into doing things before.

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Connections

References Dawn of the Dead (1978)

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Soundtracks

Time
Written by Cole Alexander, Joe Bradley (as Joseph Bradley), Ian St. Pe (as Ian Brown) and Jared Swilley
Performed by Black Lips
Courtesy of Vice Records
By Arrangement with Zync Music Group

User Reviews

Propaganda? Maybe, but still a good film

Jaime Fitzpatrick (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and teacher Nona Alberts (Viola Davis) are both parents who are tired of their failing inner city school. They battle union boss Evelyn Riske (Holly Hunter) and others to take save the school and their kids.

There's no doubt that there is a pedigree of Christian conservative roots in this movie. The big name in production is Walden Media and they have their roots in Christian conservative ownership. So is it propaganda? Probably, but it's still a good movie.

This is a movie where the labor union is made to be complete villains, and disconnected to the teachers on the ground. They lie and bribe to save their own jobs. The teachers are either good or evil. The one bad teacher can't be just incompetent. She's is literally Evil. Having said that. It is a well made film. There is good. There is evil. There are obstacles to overcome. The acting is good. The story is compelling. Other than a couple of hokey moments and some slow spots, the story flowed well. So on the film itself without taking sides, this is a definite 7. sides, this is a definite 7.