A Teacher Premiere Review

The following is a review of the 3 episode premiere of A Teacher.

Synopsis: Claire starts her first day teaching at a new school and meets her students, including Eric, a senior in her AP English class; Eric gets caught for underage drinking and a new friend helps bail him out. Claire takes Eric on a field trip to a nearby college; Tensions arise as Claire and Matt explore pregnancy options. Claire chaperones the homecoming dance and Eric comes clean about his true feelings. (Hulu)

Now that was kind of uncomfortable but somehow compelling. Based on Hannah Fidell’s 2013 film of the same name, A Teacher tells the story of the relationship between a Texas high school AP English teacher named Claire Wilson (Kate Mara) and a high school senior named Eric Walker (Nick Robinson). Those familiar with the film can probably figure out what happens next but it shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone over the course of the series’ first 3 episodes. It certainly does not waste any time at planting those seeds though for how predictable it may be on the surface, it makes up for with compelling character drama thanks to a sharp script and the nuanced performances from Mara and Robinson whose chemistry was the true standout at least so far. In the end, this was only the tip of the iceberg as these first 3 episodes saw Claire and Eric grapple with their feelings for one another meanwhile balancing their relationship with their own lives that most likely led to them coming together in the first place.

The first episode started with Claire’s first day teaching at a new school. Luckily, she made a friend in a fellow teacher to help her navigate her new environment. Also, she seemed pretty bored with her personal life and her boyfriend Matt (Ashley Zukerman) who for the longest time wanted to start a family. Despite this, they struggled with conceiving, one of many moot points in their relationship. From the moment of her first class, the connection between Claire and Eric was there but neither had the understanding at that time. He was looking for help in the form of a scholarship to get into medical school though had to raise his SAT score in order to be eligible. Meanwhile. Claire had a way of coincidentally showing up wherever Eric was. After getting stoned with his friends Josh (Dylan Schmid) and Logan (Shane Harper) outside the diner where he worked, they flocked to her as she happened to be eating. Once they disappeared, Claire and Eric seemed to hit it off as she agreed to tutor him for his SATs before driving him home. The sight of an Instagram follow (which she eventually accepted) request had her fantasizing about him in an inappropriate way which got interrupted by her late arriving boyfriend who she then used as a stand-in. It immediately doesn’t look good when she lied to her boyfriend about meeting a friend before going back to the diner for her first tutoring session with Eric (at least he was more honest about it with his mother).

The second episode saw Eric get arrested at an underage drinking party. Claire had told him that her brother was a cop which of course happened to show up at the party so he asked him to call her for him and she essentially got him out of trouble (though his getting off scot-free made others suspicious). It was awkward explaining to Matt why she had to go while the car ride between Claire and Eric was an interesting one as she lectured him and laughed at him. To change things up. instead of a regular tutoring session, she took him to her alma matter of the University of Texas, a school where he dreamed of going to. To keep up appearances after being spotted by an acquaintance, Claire and Eric attended a frat party where they didn’t drink but instead got closer. Afterwards, she clearly struggled with her feelings about him as he clearly got the wrong idea about their last outing. A conversation back at school ended with Eric leaning in for a kiss that Claire was not ready for at all.

The third episode saw Eric doing some fantasizing of his own about his last encounter with Claire. Claire and Matt continued their attempts to try to conceive but the former decided against being pumped with hormones at that time (good call). Back at school, they talked about their last encounter. Claire did not want to be his tutor anymore as their relationship was a big risk for her. Eric didn’t want anybody else (he couldn’t afford anyone else), he promised to tone it down. Homecoming also happened to be on the horizon so suffice it to say that Eric around other girls was hard for Claire. Eric ended up missing their next tutoring session in order to keep their relationship from his friends (Claire was merely a college girl he met at UofT). At homecoming, Eric finally shared his real feelings with Claire. In the end, he followed her out and they drove to a secluded area so they can sleep together in the back of her car.

Things are certainly going to get worse before they get better. It may be a little uncomfortable to watch but it’s hard not to look away.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.