A Teacher

The affecting but troubling A Teacher aims to bring more depth to this unpleasant subject and largely succeeds. [23 Nov - 6 Dec 2020, p.11]

Mara and Robinson are good leads – you can see him wilt as the years go by – but they also don’t provide enough of the why.

The confusion over how, exactly, we’re supposed to feel about Eric and Claire’s attraction, is certainly provocative, but also short-circuiting. There is plenty of room to get lost in A Teacher; I just wish it saved more for redemption.

It’s admirable, and arguably unlike most things you see on TV. Unfortunately, none of it possesses surprise and allure, much of it is deeply depressing, all of it is anticlimactic and the notions of moral obligation, and accountability supersedes the need to create compelling drama.

Not making Claire an obvious monster might be a brave choice post-#MeToo, but Fidell hasn’t made her anything else that’s particularly interesting or revealing. ... [Robinson] has more of a struggle making sense of Eric, who’s positioned as sensitive and fragile but comes across as preternaturally adult, in a way that doesn’t quite add up.

Mara and Robinson really are excellent, and the series has unsettling atmosphere to spare. But outside of some specific moments in its second half, A Teacher feels as superficial and generic as its title. There may be a great 10-episode version of this story, but this is unfortunately not it. [Nov 2020, p.73]

“A Teacher” ditches style, insight, and sexual politics for debased suburban behavior. At a time when TV embraces inventive and risky storytelling, “A Teacher” looks and feels like something that belonged on cable 10 years ago.

It all unfolds along predictably miserable lines, and confirms that there’s not really ten episodes’ worth of story here to tell. A Teacher is just an uncomfortable, frustrating viewing experience, and not in the ways it’s meant to be.

No doubt this was an accurate portrayal of the lives these characters would live. But an unwillingness to stand in judgment over Claire ultimately made for queasy viewing.