The Kindergarten Teacher
Netflix | Release Date: October 12, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianJordan Hoffman
The Kindergarten Teacher is probably the only movie about poetry with an ending as tense as any thriller. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOct 11, 2018
Fluidly capturing the trajectory of a ruinous obsession, the writer and director, Sara Colangelo, skillfully fudges the line between mentoring and manipulation, and between nurturing talent and appropriating it. Suffusing each scene with an insinuating, prickly tension, she remains ruthlessly committed to her screw-tightening tone, offering the viewer no comforting moral escape hatch. Read full review
83
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonOct 14, 2018
Gyllenhaal gives one of the most staggering performances of her career, and Colangelo’s deft command of tone keeps the lengths to which Lisa will go to stay close to Jimmy’s perceived greatness close to the chest right up to the end. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid Ehrlich
Gyllenhaal has been too good too often to label any one of her performances as her best, but she’s certainly never been better than she is here. Read full review
80
Little White LiesLillian CrawfordDec 29, 2021
Perhaps we are never driven to indignation at Lisa’s actions because the film exudes a refreshing state of calm, boasting a visual style that is awash with turquoise hues. Read full review
80
Time OutHelen O'HaraMar 13, 2019
Maggie Gyllenhaal excels in a thorny indie about boundary-crossing obsession and thwarted ambition. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerMar 8, 2019
Small-scale and slow, The Kindergarten Teacher works best as a showcase for the brilliance of Maggie Gyllenhaal. Adding another complex character to her resume, it’s another reminder she is among the best actors working today. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 6, 2019
Gyllenhaal is terrific as a teacher and wannabe poet who exploits a child prodigy in this gripping psychological drama. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyAlan ScherstuhlOct 11, 2018
The Kindergarten Teacher dares us to work out for ourselves, from moment to moment, whether Lisa is a hero, a monster or something in-between Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 11, 2018
The Kindergarten Teacher may offer a less audacious, more stylistically muted version of its predecessor, but by the time its quietly perfect final shot arrives, the movie has reached the same provocative conclusion. It’s not poetry, exactly, but it’s pretty shattering prose. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney
Rippling with psychological complexity and sneaky humor, this is a rich character study that takes constantly surprising turns. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily Yoshida
Lisa’s drive is more than biological; it’s intellectual and emotional, and that’s what keeps what often risks becoming camp madness in an identifiably human place — almost all the way to the end. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim Grierson
Writer-director Sara Colangelo’s intimate, slender drama withholds much about its main character, which allows Gyllenhaal to sketch the outline of a fractured soul. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 17, 2020
The Kindergarten Teacher is a great performance, the latest from an actress with a reputation for giving them. Watch it on Netflix and see what the Academy missed. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyOct 12, 2018
Both scrupulous and fittingly hazy, Gyllenhaal captures her character’s outsider-ly state-of-mind with astonishing depth, through the subtlest of details in the way she carries herself. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartOct 11, 2018
Maggie Gyllenhaal goes from caring to creepy in this Netflix release. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattOct 9, 2018
Gyllenhaal, bright-eyed and brittle, brings her signature intensity to the role, though Lisa’s true inner world remains murky; it’s never quite clear if she’s just deeply unhappy or certifiably ill. Instead, the movie remains an intriguing but ambiguous portrait of a flawed, fascinating woman who knows herself either too well or not at all Read full review
75
The PlaylistGregory Ellwood
Colangelo’s adaptation continually feels like it’s missing something.... Luckily though, Collangelo has Gyllenhaal, who is exceptional at times here, to carry it through. Read full review
70
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 12, 2018
The art that The Kindergarten Teacher is scanning can be found in Gyllenhaal’s eyes, hungry for a life of the mind and one starved of meaning. Jimmy is not the only one who has something to say. For the filmmaker and her star, this movie is their poem. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Colangelo (whose underrated 2014 first feature “Little Accidents” was about the aftermath of a fatal mining accident) has created a consistently interesting if slow-moving drama that works very well as a showcase for its lead performer. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 19, 2018
One of those movies with a terrific premise left unfulfilled. Read full review
67
Film Journal InternationalSimi HorwitzOct 11, 2018
The Kindergarten Teacher is a flawed movie, but it presents an onscreen character original enough to be worth knowing. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubVikram MurthiOct 10, 2018
It’s just a shame that the edge-of-your-seat suspense negates The Kindergarten Teacher’s preceding psychological power. Read full review
60
CineVueChristopher MachellMar 8, 2019
The Kindergarten Teacher evokes sadness and horror in equal measure, but not always a great deal of understanding. Read full review
60
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanOct 10, 2018
Anyone with some patience and a penchant for thoughtful ambiguity will find more than enough rewards here, from Gyllenhaal’s intelligent performance to Colangelo’s empathetic insight. True, it’s not always an easy movie to sit through. But the impact of Lisa’s plight lingers long after her fate’s been sealed. Read full review
58
The Film StageDan Mecca
While The Kindergarten Teacher ends at the perfect moment following an extremely strong final ten minutes, it’s ultimately a muddled experience. But then maybe that’s part of the point. Read full review
40
Film ThreatFilipe FreitasDec 25, 2018
The only reason to watch The Kindergarten Teacher is Ms. Gyllenhaal’s performance, whose quality makes us resist until it’s possible. Read full review
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