The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)

Review

96min

Genre:     Drama

Director:  Sara Colangelo

Cast:       Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Gael García Bernal…and more

Writers:   Sara Colangelo and Nadav Lapid

-Synopsis-

When a New York kindergarten teacher spots a rare poetic talent in one of her gifted students, she develops an obsession with nurturing what she thinks may be a child genius . . . at any cost, as her preoccupation soon takes a tense and troubling turn which leaves all else behind.

The theme of gifted kids or child geniuses has proven fertile cinematic ground for generations of filmmakers throughout the decades; from tender family dramas about little intellectuals like ‘Little Man Tate’ and the more recent ‘Gifted’, to gaming prodigies in ‘The Wizard’ and ‘Searching for Bobby Fischer’, and the 1996 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic take on the subject ‘Matilda’. Now for her second feature, burgeoning American writer/director Sara Colangelo gives us her subtle take on the matter, focusing her lens on those who facilitate and nurture the talent . . . and how far they should go to do so.

Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as the dedicated and caring titular New York kindergarten teacher ‘Lisa Spinelli’, a middle-aged wife and mother of two who worries about the squandered potential of her increasingly distant teenage kids, while indulging her ambitions as an amateur poet in a class taught by professor ‘Simon’ (Gael García Bernal). When her young student ‘Jimmy Roy’ (Parker Sevak) reveals a remarkable talent for poetry, Lisa begins to channel her preoccupations into nurturing this gifted five-year-old beyond the constraints of the world around him, soon becoming an inappropriate obsession which threatens to take over her life.

If you’re looking to bring to life an everyday, conflicted and otherwise likeable character who descends into selfish behaviour masquerading as sacrifice, only to then takes a life-altering turn all too easily—then you can do no better than casting the always excellent indie stalwart Maggie Gyllenhaal to sell it.

The elder of the brilliant acting sibling duo works closely with Colangelo to create a relatable personification of genius-nurturing, a complex and torn woman with unresolved personal issues revolving around regret and unrealised potential, developing an obsession to fill a void and projecting her fixation onto this quiet infant—who has an extraordinary and almost unconscious reflective gift, and is already familiar with emotional trauma.

Gyllenhaal’s typically nuanced and engrossing performance is only enhanced by the chemistry with her adorable young co-star Parker Sevak—an extraordinary little debutant who brings to life a stoic and introverted but emotionally advanced gifted child, without the need to grandstand or show off his genius—creating a tender yet suitably detached on-screen relationship which evolves unexpectedly.

By using something as esoteric and subjective as poetry for its artistic anchor, Colangelo leaves us conflicted over whether ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’ is truly an ode to poetic endeavour and reflective lyricism, or is just using it as a backdrop for a story of a conflicted woman with whom it becomes increasingly difficult to empathise—without truly giving us a personal backdrop against which to asses her confounding, deceptive and damaging behaviour. And without at all wishing to cast any aspersions on a clearly talented infant star and his impressive performance, when the poetic inspiration does strike—here taking the form of an almost out of body experience—it feels more like he’s reciting lines than channelling an artistic spirit.

Yet despite its narrative shortcomings, and the fact that the drama doesn’t quite escalate to the point you might expect . . . or indeed want, ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’ keeps you gripped with subtle anticipation. Becoming increasingly tense, uncomfortable and oh-so subtly unsettling—reflected by the idiosyncratic score from Asher Goldschmidt (White God, Echo)—but never completely losing its sense of innocence or flirting with a sinister side, avoiding any urge to cross into disturbing psychological drama territory . . . or a typical stalker tale.

The Bottom Line…

A tightly packaged and skilfully executed, tense and captivating little indie character drama, effortlessly carried on the shoulders of its experienced and gifted star, while energised by the subtle charisma of its adorable little debutant. ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’ keeps you confounded while unexpectedly squirming in your seat, leaving you pondering the nature of artistic genius in the 21st century, and how (or if) to nurture it—whilst establishing the reputation of its director as a young female filmmaker to watch.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Gifted (2017)

A single man’s custody of his seven-year-old maths prodigy niece is threatened by her estranged grandmother, as he struggles to balance the immense potential of the girl with his late sister’s wish that she be raised as a normal kid, in an uplifting and tear-jerking family drama from the director of ‘500 Days of Summer’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’.

Directed by Marc Webb and starring Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace and Jenny Slate among others.

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