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The Kindergarten Teacher

2018

Sara Colangelo

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar, Anna Barynishikov ...

6.2

2,187

Drama Lisa Spinelli is a Staten Island teacher who is unusually devoted to her students. When she discovers one of her five-year-olds is a prodigy, she becomes fascinated with the boy, ultimately risking her family and freedom to nurture his talent. Remake from an acclaimed Israeli film.

	Author	Review
United States	David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"Rippling with psychological complexity and sneaky humor, this is a rich character study that takes constantly surprising turns"	POS
United States	Dennis Harvey Variety	"[Colangelo] has created a consistently interesting if slow-moving drama (...) The lack of any real resolution in terms of psychological insight, however, leaves this a movie whose glass is half empty	NEU
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"It's hard not to think "WTF?!" in this story (...) But Gyllenhaal is a sorceress of an actress worthy of following through the film's twisty paths of light and dark.(…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"While Gyllenhaal’s work should be enough to satisfy anyone wondering why this movie needed to be made twice, Colangelo makes fine use of the story’s new American context."	POS
United States	Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"There’s nothing fake about what Gyllenhaal does in this film. It reminds us how great she can be with the right material"	POS
United States	Emily Yoshida Vulture	"I’m not saying I’d want to hang out with her, but her cultivation of a private dream life is realized with sensitivity by Colangelo and Gyllenhaal"	NEU
United States	Gregory Ellwood The Playlist	"Colangelo’s adaptation continually feels like it’s missing something (...) The smartest decision both Colangelo and Gyllenhall make is to not overplay Lisa’s fixation."	NEU
United Kingdom	Jordan Hoffman The Guardian	"It’s a chance to see Maggie Gyllenhaal give one of the best performances of her career (...) [It] is probably the only movie about poetry with an ending as tense as any thriller (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Tim Grierson Screendaily	"Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a superbly enigmatic performance (...) Colangelo keeps the proceedings reserved"	POS
United States	Tomris Laffly rogerebert.com	"Gyllenhaal captures her character’s outsider-ly state-of-mind with astonishing depth, through the subtlest of details in the way she carries herself (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS

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