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A Teacher (2013)

A maddening movie that has some gutsy aspects. But there is so much depending on credibility in the character's motivations, you can't quite ever buy the plot.

Which is this: a high school teacher gets involved with one of her students. I know this happens now and then, often to national headlines, so that much I like. But we want to see the psychology of a teacher who would do that, and it isn't here. What the director and writer (and leading actress, to some extent) give us is a young woman who takes risks and is obsessed with the young man she begins having sex with. Big risks. Risks so absurd (like kissing him in the classroom after the other students have left) that you wonder if the movie makers had information that this was true, or if they were winging it with no good instincts about how people would act in this situation.

Not that it needs to be terribly rational. Obviously here is a case of a teacher losing track of her place in her job, in her life, and of the consequences ahead. The student we believe, just enjoying a good ride with a nutty teacher, somewhat sincere in his liking her but a little baffled by her obsession. I mean he's only a high schooler, and as much as they know a lot about a lot, they don't know about the convolutions of older people's ability to love, and the complications of that.

Anyway, there is a lot offered here and very little achieved. To some extent the last scene of the teacher lying on a borrowed bed sums up all of our feelings. Kind of, oh my god, oh my god. Yeah, of course. But with so much dangling and unexplored, this could have been a powerful, valuable, must see drama.

Coming in at 75 minutes, if it were any shorter it would have been a TV Pilot, but if it were any longer I would have hated it.

An interesting dive into the mind and emotion of a female teacher who has a sexual relationship with one of her students. Lindsay Burdge, the actress playing the teacher, did an excellent job for most of the movie at being seemingly normal, but obviously mentally unstable. Near the last third of the movie however, she seemed to cross the line of believable and over the top a few too many times for me.

The approach of the movie was interesting in that we start well into their relationship, as the teacher's life starts to unravel. The time span of when the movie took place was relatively short, and the movie focused more on her and her emotions than it did on the relationship, which I really liked.

So I guess instead of a real script, it's easier to have 4 intimate scenes in 20 minutes?! So much pointless filler, like her family issues. Then there was the soundtrack... It's difficult for this subject matter to be really boring, But they pulled it off.

Step 1: Turn on any Lifetime movie with "Teacher" or "Student" in the title. Step 2: Start watching around the 15 minute mark. Step 3: Turn it off 20 minutes before the ending.

You have now seen "A Teacher". No character development, no resolution.

Not worth the time.

I am not sure where the bad reviews come from unless they are from people upset with the subject matter. It is Hollywood people get over it. If people voted on movies based on moral compass than many would get a 4/10.

The Hot teacher thing is a double standard. This kid is a senior, 17+ which is the age of consent in many states. Let's not dwell on the possible criminal element of the movie. I don't know of any 17 year old horny males that would feel violated by a hot young female teacher. NONE. OK so enough of that.

These 2 have a hot fling. Obviously if anyone finds out about it her career would be over. He seems mature for his age and I thought the acting was well done and these 2 actors did a great job of pretending to be into each other.

Things start to go a little astray when she realizes she is really infatuated with this kid.

I thought the film and story was beautiful and artistically well done. The dialogue was real and I understand much of it was improvised.

It is short only about 1hr 15 min but it is worth a watch.

What it does better is capture the joylessness of abuse. I liked that Diana's homelife was a share house rather than a marriage gone stale (as in the series). Also less glamourised.

Director Hannah Fidell got the idea of the movie Teacher while she worked at a restaurant waitress and was attracted to a young patron. She wondered how this would happen to a teacher. We often hear of older men and younger women, but how about the older woman, younger man? In A Teacher, Diana is a teacher at a suburban Texas high school. She has a strain relationship with her family and has few intimate friends. She crosses the lines and begins a sexual affair with a student Eric. In it, she is taken away to reignite the excitement of youthful lust and adapts to the world of quickies, sexting, and fantasy of her young suitor. Besides the ethical dilemma, she is carried away to continue this fantasy to a point of no return. This movie does a good job to show the humanity of Diana who simply craves emotional intimacy that she blocks from the thick wall around her. I saw this film as part of the Atlanta Film Festival.

This is a film in A Teacher that is nudging itself, trying to be set free from the restraints and the shortcomings of the finished product. The film trying to break free is a deep, involved character study on a teacher-student relationship that functions because of deep conversation and a mutual understanding between parties. The film we get is an interesting albeit mostly flat examination of an unremarkable teacher-student affair that strides along with sporadic hardships and ends in predictable calamity.

Hannah Fidell wanders into mumblecore territory here, as she directors and pens the film about Diana Watts (Lindsay Burdge), a high school English teacher, in her thirties or so, who has been flirting and hanging around with student Eric Tull (Will Brittain). The two hang out frequently - mostly in each others homes so being spotted in public isn't possible - and both enjoy each others company, personality, and intimacy. It doesn't take long, however, for Diana's paranoia to nearly get the best of her, as she tries to keep their relationship closeted, even as Eric begins to turn the other cheek to her at some points.

Immediately, this is a story that needs to be told, and this film ostensibly will humanize and maybe justify a teacher-student relationship. However, Fidell unfortunately keeps things too heavily nuanced to be insightful and too subtle to evoke much commentary or humanity. There isn't much to Diana or Eric, and their relationship seems more existent because it's a taboo and it's not normative. There's no real indicator on why they're together in the first place. We don't see why Eric has captured her eye, as he is just a typical, faceless high school teenager that comes to class everyday, does his work, and is quietly anxious sexually. There's no justification as to why Diana would want to date a student, or Eric in particular, seeing as if someone found out it could irreparably scar her reputation and put her out of a job.

The film I was hoping A Tacher would be featured extensive dialog to develop each character, dialog in the way of both of them talking about why they like each other enough to carry out a dangerous relationship under the noses of classmates and the school administration, and had deeply intimate, satisfying sex. This would be a four star film. The film we have here is one with minimal dialog in the way of characters, a shallow, limited view on why these two would want to be together, and relatively simple sex scenes captured by a grim camera that knows no color scheme other than black or very, very gray.

Having said all this, the film does in fact feature a strong lead performance by Lindsay Burdge, whose teacher character is made a sympathetic character, even with out much develop towards her. We can see that she thinks something of this relationship - whatever that may be - and she would be pained deeply if something wrong were to happen with it. If the film didn't have Burdge at the center, at least trying to provide some sort of clarity the character's motivations in this relationship, this would've been a complete misfire.

A Teacher is a serviceable, but overly-simple look at a subject that needs strong care and attention to be made human. The characters should've been more identifiable, the sex should've been more powerful and shocking considering the age gap, and the drama should've been thicker. The only thing I thought A Teacher was doing, by the end of it, was simply trying to push transgressive boundaries for the sake of doing so; not because it had something genuinely enlightening or strong to say.

Starring: Lindsay Burdge and Will Brittain. Directed by: Hannah Fidell.

I waited the whole thing through to see if the plot would develop any depth..... and then it ended. This was a terrible terrible movie. So extremely boring. You never even got to know ANY of the characters. Ugh so bland! I love movies and I know that there lies some type of beauty in each of them, even if it is not my cup of tea, but this one. Wow. Can I ever get that 1hr plus time back? Yes there is room for growth, but this movie has been produced, we can't go back in time. I am surprised Netflix took this one on. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I know some will beg to differ, but holy cow don't waste your time!

I usually really don't care much about the soundtrack in a movie, but in this one I noticed how bad it is. It was like from a horror movie. I usually like slow movies and movies with only 2 characters, but this one was just pointless. The story was going nowhere, we didn't learn anything about the characters, their motives, and so on. There was also not much chemistry between the main characters, which for me is probably the most important part in a romantic movie. What's up with that family scene? It lead us nowhere. What's up with all those unnecessary running scenes? They are just a filler. How about some dialogue or a plot? Character development? Anything? If you want to see a good romantic movie with low budged, but that is emotional and interesting, go watch "Blue Jay" and skip this one.

I watched this because I recently got into the new TV series on Hulu of the same name. That series is engaging, makes you care about the characters, and actually delivers some important messages on grooming. This movie does none of that. There is absolutely no build-up or character development whatsoever. Like seriously, an unseasoned chicken leg at Susan's backyard barbecue has more flavor than these characters. I think it tries to give you the whole "predatory teacher" message, but it kind of just gets jumbled up in weird sex scenes, unnecessary family drama, and unexplained breakdowns. Also, the soundtrack at the beginning is one of the most horrendous things I've ever heard. I only gave it two stars instead of one because the scenes have some parallels to the TV show, which just made me appreciate how much better the show is. Anyway, don't waste your time.

This one sucks. Tired of garbage. Hollywood needs to learn some lessons.

We don't get to know the characters in this film. Hannah Fidell gives us no back story and no resolution. If you feel as nervous about the epidemic of teacher-student sexual abuse as I do, "A Teacher" won't leave you feeling any better.

"A Teacher" is not the cheap outrage movie I thought it might be. It is not full of raunchy sex. There is no violence to. The director attempted a psychological treatment of the perpetrator. She succeeds, but she doesn't surprise me.

Lindsay Burdge plays Diana Watts, a 30-ish high school English teacher with a lost lamb demeanor and a family crisis she is trying to avoid. Diana is not the Pam Smart sultry seductress with wicked intentions. She girl-next-door attractive, but she is depressed. I empathized. I wanted to help her find her way.

Diana has roommates and friends who ask her out to parties where she has the opportunity to meet guys, but she's so insecure she cannot really connect with her peers. Diana's ex-husband and her brother try to get her attention about issues in the family, but Diana is too confused deal with them.

How did a nice girl like Diana end up with that creep? Hidell leaves it up to us to guess.

Will Brittain plays Eric Tull, a hot high school jock from a rich family. Eric is the dominant one in the relationship. Eric decides he is going to take Diana to his father's ranch. Eric decides when they are going to have sex.

The sex depicted is not explicit, but Hidell makes it plain it is joyless for Diana. Eric is a bonehead. He doesn't read when Diana is feeling sad an anxious. He doesn't care. Eric's job is stud service. He could get any girl in school he wanted. It seems he thinks Diana should be grateful to HIM for a quickie in the parking lot!

Eric comes across as a bit old for high school. This often happens when directors cast 25-year-old hunks to play high school students. However, Hidell does a deft job in show us how Eric is not quite a man yet. Diana isn't able to convey to Eric the high risk of their relationship. Eric is not able to see the situation as an adult and exercise good judgment. He's just an over privileged Texas boy playing with daddy's toys and diddling his English teacher.

I wanted to see something bad happen to Eric. I wanted to see something good happen to Diana. I wanted a comforting answer as to why so many pretty, young teachers have sex with their students. However, Hidell does't just come out and give me what I want.

Apart from awkward camera work and the stop-and-go jumpiness from one seen to the next, Hidell does a good job with what she has. She doesn't try to emulate the Hollywood blockbusters. She doesn't make her actors punch above their weight, which steers the film away from b-movie movie ham.

I felt voyeuristic. It might have been me and my camera following Diana around. The absence of backstory or subplots gave me an undiluted taste of a perilous episode in Diana Watts' life.

The drawback of Hidell's cinema vérité is I found no redemption for Eric. I just hated him. However, Eric is the victim. Not Diana. Diana is the adult. Diana is the one breaking her contract, lying to her employers, and eroding society's trust. Yet, Hidell is telling me I must empathize with Diana, and I do. Perhaps Hidell is saving the tears of Eric for "A Teacher II."

One of the dumbest movies I have ever seen, I wouldn't waste your time if I were you. There's really no beginning or end. The plot was good, but there were no details, just when it started getting good it was over! I didn't even know if this was a high school student for starters because all they say is freshmen, I was thinking college. They don't explain anything regarding the teacher, how the affair even came about, or anything useful for that matter. This movie could have had potential, but it went nowhere. The only thing I would have to say about it that's good is the directing. Good camera quality. Lets hope they come up with something better!

I have just read some of the above reviews and feel as though they have no emotional integrity whatsoever. When I watch a movie, I do not want to be spoon-fed information and told what to think. These are obviously the kind of films the above reviewers are accustomed to watching which is a great shame because they are missing out on something more beautiful and pure. By not being obvious, this film engages the mind of the viewer to look more closely at the subtext and form a unique opinion. Life is not black and white; there are many mysteries. A film that captures a truthful aspect of life is one that I always find interesting.

Firstly, 'A Teacher' is one of the few movies I have actually seen where a female character's point of view takes the main focus. A very credible character with many human flaws instantly captivates me as I want to read into her actions and form an opinion based on what I notice about her behaviour. To me, she is an adult who, for some reason, is unable to move past her adolescence. There are a couple of clues in the text of the film that highlight her incapability to face the truth like a grown up- one being her refusing to talk about a serious matter regarding her mother when her brother brings it up in conversation. She is living in a fantasy and the relationship with her student allows her to hold on to this dream world in which she lives. The whole way through the film, you are waiting for the moment when reality finally hits home and this creates a beautiful suspense.

The soundtrack is also very carefully placed and just hits the right moments. As soon as the film begins we are instantly drawn to this woman's state of mind from the unusually unsettling opening music. I think that each song in the movie has been specifically used to enhance the moods felt by this emotionally unstable schoolteacher.

The film begins and ends. It is emotionally engaging and allows us to empathise with the characters as well as reprove them. The unpredictability of the film and the excellent performances held my attention throughout. There is no need to say there was a lack of storyline on screen. Get a heart and a mind and an attention to detail. A story can be told with no words at all. In fact, a thousand words can be portrayed in one simple action. This film has much more substance and desire than a film that needs a heavy script to portray intention. Definitely a thumbs up from me. It has been a while since I've seen a film as good as this.

I personally thought it was a thoughtful and subtle character study of a woman's mental unraveling where she copes in all the wrong ways. I don't think it valorized statutory rape or grooming, but it also didn't slip into outright moralizing, which I appreciated. You see how in theses sorts of taboo relationships, both individuals have agency and the ability to behave badly. However, it is clearly evident by the end that the power imbalance was always with the teacher, and you know she paid dearly for exploiting her student's naivety.

Where it fell short was character development. It was just casually dropped in that her mother had I think it was Alzheimer's and that she had left the East Coast. It seems these details were added as an after thought to contextualize her acting out, but without expanding on their impact on her, it probably would have been better to leave those details out entirely. Just let the viewer surmise what led her to her current state.

Lastly, the performances were solid all around.

A Teacher is a drama movie directed by Hannah Fidell and stars Lindsay Burdge and Will Brittain.

The concept of the movie is indeed not the fresh but we have seen many decent movies on the same subject but this movie fails to impress. In acting department it seems that apart from Burdge no-one was very keen to put in their efforts, screenplay was slow rather uneven and can't has the gripping power to hold the viewers, direction is average.

It seems that this is an half-hearted attempt to make a movie on one of the disturbing and sensitive subject, there is nothing much impressive in the movie and the movie could be avoided.