Won't Back Down

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  • Opened September 28, 2012 
  • 2 hr 1 min
  • PG | Thematic elements and language

  • Parents: Common Sense Media says OK for kids 9+. More on child suitability

  • In this powerful story – inspired by true events – of parenthood, friendship, hope and courage, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis portray determined mothers¬ who will stop at nothing to transform their children’s failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy and a system mired in traditional thinking, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Oscar Isaac, Holly Hunter, Rosie Perez
  • Director: Daniel Barnz
  • Genres: Drama

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Critics say So-So
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Fan Reviews

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Won't Back Down

by wgm

is definetly academy award material. Excellent casting, excellent directiing and a plot that hits home for a lot of people. Inspiring and dramatic, it left me in tears. Nominate Maggie Gyllenhaal for...

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Won't Back Down

by sherrij421

All parents, teacher and those without children should go and see this heart felt movie. Two parents and a teacher to reach out and fix something that is so wrong and they want to make it right for...

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won't back down

by kirbyl

I loved this movie because it was very truthful and inspiring. Great field trip movie for elementary kids and teachers. I hope this movie inspires both teachers and children....

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Critic Reviews

83
Entertainment Weekly
| Owen Gleiberman

Won't Back Down says that whatever your feelings about the subject, lack of change cannot be the answer to our public-education crisis. Trying to cram an informational exposé and a vintage inspirational awards-bait weeper into one movie, Won't Back Down is awkward at times, yet it's also passionate in a surprisingly smart way. It makes a genuine drama out of impossible issues. Read full review

75
San Francisco Chronicle
| Mick LaSalle

For sure, this is a cause movie - sometimes it even feels that way - in favor of charter schools and against the teachers unions. Still, Won't Back Down is reasonably fair in its approach. Read full review

75
New York Post
| Kyle Smith

I haven't seen a timelier or more important film this year, and the film's passion for school choice could hardly be more warranted. Along with documentaries such as "The Lottery" and "Waiting for 'Superman,' " the film comes with a background sound of the ice of inertia cracking. Read full review

63
Philadelphia Inquirer
| Steven Rea

Barnz tries, at least a bit, to acknowledge the heroic and historic legacy of the union movement and its rightful place in the contemporary labor landscape. But much of the blame for the sorry state of Adams Elementary, and the school system at large, is placed at the union's feet. Read full review

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Viola Davis as Nona in "Won't Back Down."