Submission

Jtncsmistad provided a great review. Please do take a look at it.

To add my thoughts I am a fan of Tucci, Sedgwick, and Garofalo. The first half of the movie held my interest and I thought they all gave great performances but the second half of the movie unfortunately was very predictable. I don't mind predictable with an interesting story but in this case even great acting did not save the story.

Worth a watch and definitely watch if you are a teacher.

The games are dirty and the stakes are high in the new drama "Submission". Stanley Tucci (sporting a toupee that doesn't look half-bad) is as solid as ever as Ted Swenson, a dispirited college English lit professor in desperate search of a follow-up to a successful debut novel. Addison Timlin is Angela Argo, an admiring and enigmatic student who persuades her prof to critique chapters of her own go at a book. At first Angela projects as timid and unsure of herself and her craft with Ted. But we watch as she transforms from a seemingly scattered coed into a poised and purposeful young woman, and all the while shrewdly laser-focused on a prize she covets above all else.

As the mentorship develops matters inevitably become increasingly complicated between teacher and student. Eventually the relationship makes a volatile shift from nurturing common bond to flashpoint cataclysmic intimacy. Screenplay writer and director Richard Levine presents a dynamic in which it becomes increasingly difficult to discern who is in fact playing whom in the quest for literary fame and fortune.

The supporting cast are quite good across the board in "Submission". The multi-gifted Janeane Garofalo-one of my all-time faves-brings a sense of humor and pathos to the story as Magda, professional cohort and personal confidante of Ted who must help determine a wrenching verdict regarding her friend late in the film. The routinely reliable Kyra Sedgwick makes an impression as Sherrie, a dutifully supportive working wife who has her comfy world shaken upside down in the wake of devastating disclosure. The pivotal restaurant dinner scene between husband and wife is powerful stuff from both of these pros. But it is Sedgwick's performance in particular that infuses these emotionally jarring moments with searing sorrow and strength.

"Submission" opens in New York City on March 2 and in Los Angeles along with other markets nationwide March 9.

The lines between a semi-successful, middle-aged novelist/professor and his student are crossed: lines of deceit, intimacy and manipulation. It's a #metoo movement highlighter with the good ol' cliche storyline of a student/teacher relationship and touches on the depths that some will go for success. "Submission" is a slow roller coaster ride of emotions and mild surprises. There is no drop and no climax so if a slow ride is what you desire, press play.

If you can't figure out exactly how this story is going to unfold during the first ten minutes, you're obviously a very trusting person and probably not too bright. However, Submission is not supposed to keep you guessing and wondering. It is supposed to make you cringe and reach out to the screen, telling the protagonist, "Don't do it!" Stanley Tucci plays a creative writing professor who wrote a best-selling memoir a long time ago. He used to have a lot of prestige and idolatry, but now, he's a little bored. When an insecure, nervous, boundary-less female student approaches him to read pages from her in-progress novel, she's offered herself as bait. Addison Timlin is grungy, with large black roots against bleached, unkempt hair, black nail polish, and an open inappropriateness about her that is widely known by her other teachers - including Janeane Garofalo, who warns Stanley about her! But, Stanley's ego is flattered, his self-importance is built up, and his boredom is replaced by feeling attractive to a young college student who could sleep with a guy her own age any weekend of her choosing. It doesn't matter that Addison is plainly untrustworthy and bad news. It doesn't matter that it's completely unethical. It doesn't matter that he could lose his job and ruin his reputation. It doesn't matter that he has a sexy, attractive, interesting, supportive wife (Kyra Sedgwick) at home. He's selfish and not thinking about the future. That's how people get into trouble.

Although he's in the film for only one scene, Peter Gallagher steals the show (as usual) with great dialogue and screen presence. He tells Stanley that memoirs sell when the author writes about a problem, like an addiction. "Compulsively *sleeping with* your students - that would be great!" It's only one scene, but it's the one you'll remember. The rest of the movie is one giant groan following your warnings to Stanley to stay away from Addison. This is a cautionary tale, and it tells it very well.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

Never heard of this one before and thought I would give it a try. Not exactly what I expected and ending was predictable. Wouldn't say I am in a hurry to rewatch it but it wasn't terrible either.