Director: Craig Zisk
Starring: Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Nathan Lane, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Jessica Hecht, Norbert Leo Butz, Charlie Saxton, Nikki Blonsky, Sophie Curtis
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Certificate: 15
The world of cinema has always had a certain need to deify teachers and present their actions as what forms the foundations of their students’ lives. As a teacher myself you would probably expect me to be okay with such a portrayal, but in actual fact it kind of undermines the importance of the job in real life terms. One thing that THE ENGLISH TEACHER has going for it, is that it takes a rather bitter look at the need to inspire, which is a refreshing change if nothing else.
Linda Sinclair (Moore) is a 45 year old spinster who may have resigned herself to a life living in her books, but she also keeps an eye out for potential love interests. The film begins with rather charming, though admittedly layered with a quirky sense of humour from many an independent comedy, narration that details the dull and formulaic life of Linda. As she views potential partners, the screen fills up with visualised mental notations and a grade. This is a strange inventiveness that the film quickly sets aside, finding it hard to deal with both this and the plot.
One day, Linda meets an ex-student (Angarano) who was once the school’s prodigal writer, who left for New York to pursue his dreams. With his dreams now crushed, Linda decides to transform his script into the school play. What starts off as a kind gesture is soon revealed to be a rather selfish fulfilling of her own fantasies. Despite this turn, the film is never as cruel or as biting as it should be. It seems to be torn as to whether it should celebrate the work of teachers or warn against vicariously living through students. It’s this inability to commit that leaves the film flapping in the wind.
Linda isn’t the only character that seems to be let off lightly, with Angarano’s man-child failing to realise his own shortcomings, and Lily Collins character of Halle another example of the screenplay not knowing where to go with characters. Not only does the film have difficulty in terms of characters, but the conclusions to events and relationships also seem unsatisfactory. Director Zisk has only worked in television prior to THE ENGLISH TEACHER, with directorial stints on everything from Scrubs, New Girl, Weeds and American Horror Story. This may go some way to deciphering the uneven tone and lack of focus. Characters are treated as though they can just return in later episodes, and situations never really run their course.
The performances are the shining beacon here, with everyone giving the material their all. Kinnear, as Angarano’s father, and Moore being the obvious stand-outs. Nathan Lane also adds much needed laugh out loud humour with a number of very witty and rather clever lines. The cast also have brilliant chemistry that prevents the film from ever becoming boring or repetitive. There’s certainly fun to be had and moments to laugh at, but it’s doubtful you’ll be invested in the characters or outcomes.
[usr=3]THE ENGLISH TEACHER is released on DVD on 3rd March via Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.
