The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)

Director: Sara Colangelo
Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gael Garcia Bernal, Ato Blankson-Wood
Runtime: 96 minutes

Synopsis: An aspiring poet who works as a kindergarten teacher believes that one of her students has a talent she fears will go to waste.

• Performances: 8/10

Why? The Gyllenhaal siblings have always been talented. There is no denying that. And while Jake is deservedly getting the attention he earned, the same sadly cannot be said about his equally gifted sister, Maggie. In "The Kindergarten Teacher", she gives the best performance of her entire career, which is saying a lot given her rich filmography. Her portrayal of Lisa, a character so complex I'm still not sure if she's the hero or the villain of her own movie, is both fascinating and disturbing at the same time. I wish I could say the same about the supporting cast who was nowhere near as good as Maggie, and whose acting, unfortunately, did take me out of the movie at times.  

• Screenplay: 8/10

Why? Serving as both a character study and a commentary on art, "The Kindergarten Teacher" had me hooked from beginning to end despite a few hiccups in its narrative here and there. I found the character of Lisa, who serves as both the protagonist and antagonist of the story, to be fascinating and beautifully layered, and her descent into madness thrilling and to some extent, disturbing. The commentary it tries to deliver is also well executed, even though I personally thought that it was spoonfed to the audience at times. Sara Colangelo's little gem, much like Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance, deserves to be talked about way more than it currently is.    

• Costumes/Makeup: 7/10

Why? Nothing exciting to mention here. I did, however, very much enjoy Maggie Gyllenhaal's wardrobe purely from an aesthetic point of view.

• Editing: 8/10

Why? Could've edited out a couple of scenes I thought were unnecessary and a bit confusing, but I generally found the film's flow to be smooth.

• Cinematography: 6/10

Why? The movie definitely doesn't look bad and did have some interestingly shot scenes, but the cinematography didn't wow me as much as I was expecting it to. 

• Score/Soundtrack: N.A.

Why? The movie is almost scoreless (apart from a few scenes where it is integrated very smoothly) which is a decision I respect a lot considering the fact that it helped the film stay grounded. It also fits well with the fact that Lisa is an aspiring poet, an art form known for delivering a message without a musical background to go with it.   

FINAL GRADE: 8/10

To see how "The Kindergarten Teacher" compares to other movies released in 2018, click here.