Critics reviews

Radical, a film that neatly meshes the new and the old, feels novel – never mind that you’ve heard the melody in a dozen other songs... Radical may hit all the requisite narrative arcs, but it does so with a level of nuance and examination that other films of this type either gloss over or ignore entirely.

“Radical” [is] a sentimental drama that is based on a true story but boxes neatly into familiar packaging. The title is nearly oxymoronic: It boldly belies how close to convention the film hews... Despite its foundation in reality, “Radical” is as by the books as it gets.

Derbez, always a charismatic screen presence, is at his best interacting with young people, as he did playing the music teacher in “Coda” and the quirky doctor in “Miracles from Heaven.”

While “Radical,” an audience winner at the Sundance Film Festival, is formulaic in its approach, it gets enough out of it likable cast to earn at least a passing grade.

Like Sergio’s unusual modus operandi, “Radical” takes some time to click, its first half as unstructured as Sergio’s classroom. But at about the halfway point, when the kids discover the excitement of learning, it becomes as thrilling as any blockbuster.

Radical is a fairly straightforward drama in which the predictable arc is matched by its heartfelt sincerity... Boosted by some lovely performances from its young actors, writer-director Christopher Zalla’s sometimes-creaky feel-good film is most affecting when it explores how some children can have their future taken away only too soon.

Zalla adheres to the subgenre’s conventions and doesn’t stint on sentimentality, but Radical more than earns its surging emotional payoff... But there’s an underlying integrity to the storytelling that makes you root for these kids to succeed and for Sergio’s risk-taking dedication to be validated.

There are moments in “Radical” that toe the line of trauma porn, and the movie is very engaging in a way it knows white audiences will eat up. But that’s not to take away from the fact that, yes, towns like this do exist, and kids do have these lives. So while it does have its faults, Zalla’s writing and directing achieve what it sets out to do.

“Radical” can’t escape a formulaic construction with scenes that pack a predictably saccharine punch... And yet, as unsubtle as the story beats tend to march on, the backdrop of poverty and hopelessness make the light that Derbez’s character brings into the classroom, and in turn into the youths’ lives, earned.

“Radical” feels too often like its drama has been copied from a tearjerking textbook; it’s nearly flagrant about having so many predictable beats... There’s no inherent problem with aiming to be a crowd-pleaser, but that focus becomes more frustrating with "Radical" than it should.

Zalla deserves credit for retaining an element of realism that suggests being bright and engaged doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll triumph if the societal cards are stacked against you, although he ultimately leans into the positives as you might expect. You might not learn anything new about this sort of drama by watching this but it passes the tearjerk test with flying colours.

Yes, we have seen dozens of inspiring-teacher movies in the past... However this small, virtually unknown tale of a man determined to unlock the human potential of kids who likely never will beat the circumstances of their birthplace is unique and special with its setting,