The Kindergarten Teacher

The 6.7/10 on IMDb is disappointing to me. This film is not exactly the genre I am typically drawn too, but it proceeded to instantly peek my interest by performing well fundamentally. The score was eerie when it needed to be, and it was chipper and enticing the rest of the time. There was nothing crazy in this film and it had no huge plot twists, but that didn't stop it from building and building until I just couldn't wait to see what happened next. The characterization was what really made The Kindergarten Teacher shine. Only two characters really needed development, and they got ALL of it. I was enthralled in their relationship. Give this film a chance even if you are not a fan of dramas.

This is a fascinating film, although not one that immediately appears as such. The Kindergarten Teacher is a patient and slow-moving watch, but it's one that creates an enthralling tension beneath the surface, as we see rather bizarre but fairly innocent behaviour get more and more out of hand, furthered by a riveting social perspective that adds a brilliant emotional depth to the main characters.

So, the main thing to know is that if you watch The Kindergarten Teacher, it's not a film that will come to you in the first ten minutes. In fact, it's all a little strange over the course of the first act, as we see Maggie Gyllenhaal's character being bizarrely obsessed with a five year old boy, yet with the story presenting it as if there's nothing abnormal about what's going on.

However, the story really does come good in the latter stages (which I will get into), but that doesn't mean that it's a boring watch early on either.

Above all, Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance is what makes The Kindergarten Teacher work right the way through, as she gives a down-to-earth and thoroughly convincing portrayal of a clearly kind-hearted woman, yet is able to subtly create a certain tension and unpredictability about her over the course of the first act - getting a little too close to her student, and coming out with rather uncharacteristic hippie-esque soundbites - something that really intrigued me as her character's true nature becomes clear throughout.

It's an undoubtedly excellent performance, and Gyllenhaal gives it the ambiguity and tension that the film really needs to make its central themes work.

Now, while that tension and uncertainty grows and grows as the teacher's behaviour becomes ever more bizarre, the film introduces some really fascinating central ideas that lend a stunning emotional depth to our main character, as well as the story as a whole.

At first, you're left a little bemused as to why this woman is acting in such a strange way, but there's a riveting peeling back of the layers throughout that show the stress and disappointment in her own life that has eventually led her to this point.

In that, the film has a little bit of a commentary on the nature of mid-life crises, while also bringing the widely relatable notion of feeling disappointed at your own failures, as we see a woman with ambition and a wider appreciation for the world, and yet has come up short time and time again, further frustrated by the rest of the world's seeming apathy towards the finer things of life, as she sees her own failings mirrored in the potential future of a young boy.

What's even more interesting about those central themes, however, is that they can be interpreted in a variety of ways, largely depending on how optimistic or pessimistic you are towards the nature of art and poetry, as well as your own personal take on ambitions and purpose in life in general.

As a result, The Kindergarten Teacher isn't a film that spoonfeeds you with a narrative showing our main character as simply good or bad, but instead makes you think with a more ambiguous portrayal, leaving you to fall back on your own interpretations to make a judgment of your own, something that I found absolutely fascinating and incredibly rewarding come the end of the film.

Overall, I was really rather impressed by The Kindergarten Teacher. It starts off in bizarre fashion, and although its main thematic core doesn't really come about until about halfway, there's a riveting dramatic tension that bubbles right from the start thanks to Maggie Gyllenhaal's fantastic performance, culminating in a drama that's both enthralling, and really makes you think.

One of the holy grails of film is openness to varied interpretation. Despite its implied narrative unity, The Kindergarten Teacher (2017)is as open-ended as they come. What appears to be a predictable story of a bored 40-something teacher looking for self-actualisation slowly takes on dark themes of psycho-sexual obsession and acts of criminality.

Deep in a marital and career rut, kindergarten teacher Lisa Spinelli (Maggie Gyllenhaal) craves more than life has offered. Her teenage kids prefer social media than listening to her admonishments and her tolerant husband Grant (Michael Chernus) cannot understand why she is so restless. To ease her sexual and career frustration, Lisa attends an evening poetry class to immerse herself in literary beauty, hoping to become a writer despite a paucity of talent.

Her dreams are answered in the strangest of ways. One day in kindergarten, she overhears five-year old Jimmy (Parker Sevak) spontaneously create a short poem. To Lisa, this is an epiphany: if she cannot find great writing within, then her gift is to recognise sycg prodigious talent. She plagiarises Jimmy's poem and her evening class and teacher are impressed. Believing that only she can save Jimmy's talent from obscurity, she becomes obsessed with the boy and ingratiates herself into his broken family life.

This storyline description does not come close to capturing how disturbing Lisa's behaviour becomes. Today's global awareness of child abuse has rewritten the rules of how an adult can relate to a child. At first imperceptibly then manifestly obvious, Lisa bends then breaks all the rules for child contact. Her physical touch, excessive attention, and taking him where others cannot see, gradually dial-ups audience levels of discomfort. When Jimmy's father withdraws him from the kindergarten because of Lisa's behaviour, her complete breakdown and subsequent responses make it impossible to predict where her obsession might lead.

There are many horror and thriller films that pale alongside The Kindergarten Teacher: it is a superb example of how less can be more in filmmaking. Reliance on ambiguity and audience imagination creates a tense psycho-drama on the nature of psychotic obsession. Maggie Gyllenhaal gives an extraordinary yet understated performance; she dominates every scene and exudes normality with just a hint of madness. Young Parker Sevak is amazing in his innocence and bewilderment over the fuss he seems to cause. Tight direction keeps the narrative moving forward with well-measured escalating tension until it is impossible to guess what will happen next in this low-key but highly disturbing film.

What plays out as a drama for the first hour, turns into an uncomfortable thriller, as a down on her luck teacher takes a special interest in a young bright student who has a knack for creating poems far beyond his age. Not seeing a trailer and knowing next to nothing before tuning in, there's never really a key as to where the film is going, both in structure and intention. It keeps you on your toes but it also creates more and more tension and a cringey feeling in your stomach when Maggie Gyllenhaal's 'Lisa' makes each move to get closer to her student. It's icky and both depressing how far she goes to make herself feel accomplished and worth something. So in that sense, this is a fascinating character study of psycho teacher, who just happens to also be incredibly kind and giving.

7.5/10

Gentle and subtle portrait of a kindergarten schoolteacher (Maggie Gylenhaal) who discovers a child prodigy with an extra ordinary poetry talent.

What makes this movie interesting is not the success story of this child's talent, but the many failures the kindergarten teacher herself has suffered in her life, in trying to become a good writer. Now she wants to own this kid's talent, compensating for her own shortcomings in writing.

It is an intriguing, subtle picture, worthwhile watching, yet missing in excellence, because of a lack of credibility of the story at certain crucial plot turns. This story is not very believable near the end, and as a result, the drama starts lacking as well.

For example: I simply can not believe any schoolteacher would go as far as taking one of her schoolkids to her own house and letting him stay overnight, without alerting the parents first.

Therefore the biggest downfall of this story is that it lacks in a believable plot turn at a crucial dramatic moment near the end.

Dont get me wrong, the end is beautiful allright, but it fizzles out a bit as well. Such a shame, because this story had all the ingredients in becoming a gem.

It is still a very interesting, touching picture, definitely worthwhile watching, but it unfortunately is missing in excellence...