“A Teacher” presents Claire’s behavior without excusing it, and the miniseries pulls a sort of bait and switch. During its first half, “A Teacher” almost lulls you into accepting Claire and Eric as a “normal” relationship, with the only problem being that Claire is married. Quyen Tran’s cinematography is a recurring reminder that we’re watching something criminal unfold, with shots that place us as witnesses: spotting through the smeared glass of a gym door Eric following Claire to her car for their first rendezvous; seeing in split screen the increasingly inappropriate text messages they send each other. The interruptions into Claire and Eric’s self-perceived romantic bliss are even more jarring, and hence even more valuable—and the latter half of the season, which focuses more on Eric’s struggle to understand what he experienced and to cope with the fallout, is exceptional work from Robinson.
Robinson skews younger than his 25 years thanks to a boyish smile that has served him well in a number of teen-focused films (“The Kings of Summer,” “Love, Simon,” and “Everything, Everything”), and his Eric is hopeful, responsible, and charming. Seeing his flattening into someone molded by Claire’s specifications and fixated on pleasing her is a terrible insight into the grooming process, and Robinson gives a spellbindingly heartbreaking performance. His Eric makes plain the insidiousness of this kind of sexual abuse, but like the characterization of Claire, he has a personality and depth outside of their relationship. He is a loving older brother and a jocular best friend, and “A Teacher” builds in time to explore how those characteristics are also infected by Claire in a manifestation of the far-reaching effects of predation.
“She can tell me to do whatever she wants,” one of Eric’s friends jokes when they first see Ms. Wilson, and “A Teacher” doesn’t shirk away from the complicated, contrasting ways Claire and Eric move through their respective social circles. Their experiences raise other questions about what we accept in terms of romance. Eric’s fellow seniors date younger teenagers often, insisting “Age is just a number”; is every one of those relationships statutory rape? When Eric begins sleeping with Claire, a lifetime of toxic masculinity convinces him he’s the one in charge (“I’m the motherf**king man!”); how can we change conversations about abuse when there is still a stigma attached to male victims? “A Teacher” expands in various directions to probe at how American culture values youth to an obsessive degree and emphasizes personal satisfaction to the detriment of others, and those other considerations expand and improve “A Teacher.” Given its content, the miniseries could easily have been superficially scintillating, but instead, it’s purposefully disquieting and thoroughly disturbing, anchored by strong performances from Mara and Robinson that underscore how our gendered stereotypes are failing those who need protection most.
Entire series screened for review. It starts on November 10th on FX on Hulu.
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