The English Teacher (film)

Last updated
The English Teacher
English teacher poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Craig Zisk
Written by Dan Chariton
Stacy Chariton
Produced by
  • Matthew E. Chausse
  • Naomi Despres
  • Ben LeClair
  • Robert Salerno
Starring
CinematographyVanja Cernjul
Edited by Myron Kerstein
Music by Rob Simonsen
Production
company
Artina Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • April 26, 2013 (2013-04-26)(Tribeca Film Festival)
  • May 17, 2013 (2013-05-17)(United States)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$320,013 [1]

The English Teacher is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film [2] directed by Craig Zisk. The film stars Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, and Nathan Lane, and was written by Dan and Stacy Chariton. It received mixed reviews.

Contents

Plot

Linda Sinclair is a high school English teacher in the small town of Kingston, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about her subject and popular with her students, but lives alone in simple circumstances. Cursed with a hopeless romantic soul, she lives in a world of men unable to match her impossible standards.

When her former star pupil Jason Sherwood returns after graduating from NYU's playwriting program, crushed and insecure after failing to succeed, Linda and drama teacher Carl Kapinas convince him to produce his play at the school. Jason's father, Dr. Tom Sherwood, pressures him to attend law school instead, which he finally seemingly relents to with no other prospects in sight.

Complications arise after Linda and Jason, in a moment of impulsive creative madness, have a sexual encounter on her classroom desk. Various jealousies and rumors ensue, affecting her and everyone around her including the production of Jason's play. When the school heads are confronted with proof of her indiscretion with the former student, Linda is fired on the spot.

Embarrassed, Linda hurries off, gets into a minor car collision, and ends up at a hospital where she's attended to by Dr. Sherwood. She is moved by his gracious manner after having been mean to him on a previous occasion. She guiltily admits to having had sex with his son.

With news of advance-ticket sales of beyond $18,000 for Jason's play, the principal backtracks, persuading Linda to return and resume directing duties, as stress has temporarily incapacitated Carl, so the play may go on. However, the school heads require a new ending for the play as the current one is considered overly violent and fear parents will be outraged by its dark themes of murder and suicide. Jason feels betrayed and refuses to rewrite the play's ending, so Linda is forced to come up with a suitable replacement herself. She manages to redo the ending which appeases the school and Jason (when he sees the play is a success).

Jason moves on to write further plays as Linda eases back into teaching and regaining her reputation. Sometime later, Linda runs into Jason's father at her favorite bookshop. Catching up over coffee, both realize they'd totally misread each other previously. Grateful for all she has done for his son, and pleasantly surprised they have much more in common than previously thought, Tom invites Linda on a further proper date, and she, somewhat hesitantly, accepts.

Cast

Production

The English Teacher was first announced in September 2011. [3] It was Zisk's feature film directorial debut, following his work on several television shows, including Weeds , The Big C , Scrubs , and The United States of Tara . [4] [5]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2013, followed by a US theatrical release on May 17. [6] It was released in 7 theaters, and earned $104,810 domestically at the box office, and $215,203 in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $320,013. [1] The film also had a video on demand release.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 41% based on reviews from 37 critics, with an average rating of 5.39/10. [7] On Metacritic the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julianne Moore</span> American actress (born 1960)

Julie Anne Smith, known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, as well as for her roles in blockbusters. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards.

<i>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</i> 1982 film directed by Amy Heckerling

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story, and starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Ray Walston, Amanda Wyss, Scott Thompson, and Vincent Schiavelli. Crowe went undercover at Clairemont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences.

<i>The Final Season</i> 2007 film by David M. Evans

The Final Season is a 2007 baseball film starring Sean Astin, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tom Arnold, Powers Boothe, Larry Miller, Brett Claywell, Michael Angarano, and Marshall Bell and directed by David Mickey Evans. The film wrapped production in 2006 in Shellsburg, Iowa, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was released in the United States and Canada on October 12, 2007, by Yari Film Group.

<i>Safe</i> (1995 film) 1995 film

Safe is a 1995 psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore. Set in 1987, it follows a suburban housewife in Los Angeles whose monotonous life is abruptly changed when she becomes sick with a mysterious illness caused by the environment around her.

The 68th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2002, were announced on 16 December 2002 and presented on 12 January 2003 by the New York Film Critics Circle.

Craig Zisk is an American director and producer.

<i>Baby Mama</i> (film) 2008 film by Michael McCullers

Baby Mama is a 2008 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael McCullers in his directorial debut and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, with Steve Martin, and Sigourney Weaver.

"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 79th overall episode of the series. It was written by supervising producer Matt Hubbard and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 13, 2010. Guest stars in this episode include John Anderson, Elizabeth Banks, Jon Hamm, Kristin McGee, Julianne Moore, Michael Sheen, Jason Sudeikis, and Dean Winters.

<i>Bad Teacher</i> 2011 film by Jake Kasdan

Bad Teacher is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins and Jason Segel, the film tells the story of a lazy middle school teacher who hates her job, her students, and her co-workers but returns to teaching after her wealthy fiancé dumps her. Bad Teacher was released in the United States on June 24, 2011 by Columbia Pictures. It grossed $216.2 million.

<i>Movie 43</i> 2013 American anthology comedy film

Movie 43 is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Patrik Forsberg, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, Will Graham, and Jonathan van Tulleken. It stars an ensemble cast that is led by Banks, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Josh Duhamel, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Liev Schreiber, Seann William Scott, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. Julianne Moore, Tony Shalhoub, Odenkirk, Anton Yelchin and Shane Jacobson also appear in storylines not included in the film's theatrical release.

<i>Detachment</i> (film) 2011 film by Tony Kaye

Detachment is a 2011 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by Carl Lund. Its story follows Henry Barthes, a high-school substitute teacher who becomes a role model to his students and others. It stars Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Tim Blake Nelson, Betty Kaye, Sami Gayle, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner and James Caan.

<i>Thats What I Am</i> 2011 American film

That's What I Am is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Pavone and starring Ed Harris and Chase Ellison. It received a limited release on April 29, 2011, and was later released on DVD on July 15, 2011.

<i>Stuck in Love</i> (film) 2012 American film

Stuck in Love is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Boone in his directorial debut. The independent film stars Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, and Logan Lerman. It focuses on the complicated relationships between a successful novelist, played by Kinnear, his ex-wife (Connelly), their college daughter (Collins), and their teenage son (Wolff). The film began a limited theatrical release in the United States on July 5, 2013.

<i>Carrie</i> (2013 film) 2013 film by Kimberly Peirce

Carrie is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Kimberly Peirce. It is the third film adaptation and a remake to the 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel of the same name and the fourth film in the Carrie franchise. The film was produced by Kevin Misher, with a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character Carrie White, alongside Julianne Moore as Margaret White. The cast also features Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort and Alex Russell. The film is a modern re-imagining of King's novel about a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who uses her telekinetic powers with devastating effect after falling victim to a cruel prank at her senior prom.

Dan and Stacy Chariton are screenwriters of the 2013 film The English Teacher, starring Julianne Moore, Nathan Lane, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano and Lily Collins, which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. They met as undergraduates at the USC School of Cinema-Television, where they studied under professor John Furia, Jr.

<i>Maps to the Stars</i> 2014 film

Maps to the Stars is a 2014 internationally co-produced satirical drama film directed by David Cronenberg, and starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, and Evan Bird. The screenplay was written by Bruce Wagner, who had written a novel entitled Dead Stars based on the Maps to the Stars script, after initial plans for making the film with Cronenberg fell through.

<i>Man Up</i> (film) 2015 film

Man Up is a 2015 romantic comedy film directed by Ben Palmer and written by Tess Morris. It stars Lake Bell and Simon Pegg. The film follows a 34-year old single woman who is mistaken for a stranger's blind date and finds the perfect man for her in a 40-year old divorcé. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2015. It received positive reviews from critics.

<i>Murder of a Cat</i> 2014 film by Gillian Greene

Murder of a Cat is a 2014 American comedy thriller film directed by Gillian Greene and starring Fran Kranz, Nikki Reed, J. K. Simmons, Leonardo Nam, Blythe Danner, and Greg Kinnear. The film premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, and was given a limited theatrical release in the Unites States on December 5, 2014, by Gravitas Ventures.

<i>Still Alice</i> 2014 film by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland

Still Alice is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on the 2007 novel by Lisa Genova. It stars Julianne Moore as Alice Howland, a linguistics professor diagnosed with familial Alzheimer's disease shortly after her 50th birthday. Alec Baldwin plays her husband, John, and Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish play her children.

<i>The Meddler</i> 2015 American film

The Meddler is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. The film stars Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne and J. K. Simmons. Principal photography began on March 30, 2015 in Los Angeles. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on April 22, 2016, by Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films.

References

  1. 1 2 "The English Teacher (2013)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  2. Scott Foundas (May 13, 2013). "Film Review: 'The English Teacher'". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  3. "Julianne Moore, Greg Kinnear To Star In 'The English Teacher'". IndieWire. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  4. "Tribeca Film Festival announces new Richard Linklater, David Gordon Green films for line-up". Entertainment Weekly. March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  5. "Cinedigm & Tribeca Film Team Up To Distribute Julianne Moore and Nathan Lane Starring 'The English Teacher'". IndieWire. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  6. "Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano in 'The English Teacher' - trailer". Digital Spy. April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  7. "The English Teacher". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  8. "The English Teacher". Metacritic .