Review of The English Teacher (2015) by Thomas W — 16 Aug 2013

One of these years the exceptionally talented Julianne Moore will finally win a deserved Oscar ... but it isn't going to be 2013 for the highly disappointing The English Teacher, a film in which she plays the eccentric titular small town school teacher whose life of embraced solitude and literature-based best friends is turned upside down (by her own doing) when a former student (Michael Angarano - Almost Famous) returns home after a failed attempt at playwriting in NYC brings him back to town where he is being influenced by his father (Greg Kinnear - Little Miss Sunshine) to give up the arts to pursue a more lucrative career in law.

Moore's Ms. Sinclair hopes to influence her former student to keep his dream alive by staging a high school drama production of his (quite adult) play; but nothing goes as smoothly as she had anticipated and much trouble and turmoil is brought about at the school because of her meddling.

Most of the characters here are shallow and/or absurd caricatures -- such as the school drama teacher (Nathan Lane - The Birdcage) -- and additional faculty and students -- Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror), Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray), Jessica Hecht (Dan in Real Life) -- over-complicate the plot and cause confusion.

None of them help with the story although Collins is undoubtedly a rising star. Moore is such a good actress that she has already picked up four Oscar nominations -- Boogie Nights, The End of the Affair, The Hours, Far From Heaven -- and has also been snubbed for just as many performances worthy of recognition -- A Single Man, Short Cuts, The Kids Are All Right, Safe.

Had her HBO film Game Change been eligible for Oscar recognition, she'd surely have won another nomination for her spot-on depiction of the polarizing (sometime) politician Sarah Palin as Moore gave the larger-than-life individual eye-opening moments of heart, frustration and exasperation that reminded Palin's detractors she was a human being with a wide range of emotions and strong familial loyalty worthy of respect.

The English Teacher doesn't allow Moore any real moment(s) to shine and it actually makes her Ms. Sinclair a most unlikeable character and one worthy of rooting against. The film sadly points out that some of the dreams we have don't matter in the grand scheme of things as others don't find them important enough to appreciate.

It is a sad thought and one that deserved a better film in which to be acknowledged. As is ... The English Teacher doesn't provide a winning argument in its favor ... and people will continue not caring.