A Teacher Trailer:
The controversial series “A Teacher” hit Hulu this week as part of the FX on Hulu Package Deal that was part of the 2020 integration. Based on the Movie of the same name that premiered at Sundance Film Festival a few years ago, “A Teacher” is converted into a mini-series that better tells the twisted tale of a teacher and student’s affair.
“The series contains sexual situations as well as depictions of grooming that some may find disturbing” – Hulu’s warning before each and every episode.
The movie “A Teacher” premiered at Sundance in 2013 and the series seems to take place in the same year based on the social media displays and song choices including “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber. The series follows the same premise as the original film – a young, new teacher at the school. Mrs. Wilson (Kate Mara), begins pursuing a relationship with her under-age Senior student Eric (Nick Robinson). Although the series explores the toxic and predatory relationship between the student and teach dynamic, don’t worry – both Mara and Robinson are of legal age.
While the age difference isn’t exactly counted, it is referenced that Claire is in her early thirties and Eric is an eighteen-year-old senior, making their age gap at least fifteen years.
In the first episode, we see a series of chance encounters that push the two characters together outside of the classroom. Eric initially sees Mrs. Wilson, or as she urges him to call her, Claire, as the hot new teacher, discussing her newest addition to the school with his friends. We encounter Claire, who seems like a bored house-wife who spends her free time away from her husband shop-lifting from the local drugstore. The two both enter the “relationship” from different angels and viewpoints, choosing to dismiss and ignore the age difference at the expense of their reputation and little regards to the legal repercussions of their affair.
When their arranged tutoring lessons turn to college campus visits and Claire bailing Eric out of drunken encounters with the cop, their dynamics of their relationship begins to change into the toxic aftermath where we can predict the outcome. Although Eric is the first one to initiate the physical aspect of their relationship, its Claire’s decisions to erase the boundaries separating the two of them, that escalates his actions and propels them down a tragic path. Eric’s involvement with Claire earns him popularity while Claire faces legal implications and a severed marriage, both seem worth the risk to pursue the relationship.
The series is predictable, we all know how it is going to end before we dive into the first episode, however, the series intertwines storylines to hint at the lasting and sounding repercussions of both of their decisions for many years to come. It’s hard to sit and watch someone destroy their life through the consequences of their own actions, but opens eyes to the devastation these relationships have on the people involved and their lives after they end.
Per typical Hulu distribution, the first three episodes hit the streaming site today and the other seven episodes will be distributed on a weekly basis moving forward.
Series Score (So Far): 6/10
And that's the sitch.
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