“Talent is so fragile. It’s so rare, and our culture does everything to crush it,” says Maggie Gyllenhaal in the first trailer for Sara Colangelo’s “The Kindergarten Teacher.” Unsatisfied with her life in the classroom, Lisa (Gyllenhaal) dreams of a life brimming with art and intellectualism. But she’s not particularly talented. Her evening poetry class is evidence of her mediocrity. Lisa is all too eager to latch onto someone else’s coattails — even if they belong to a five-year-old.
When Lisa overhears her student Jimmy (Parker Sevak) reciting a poem, she becomes fixated on the child and his artistry. Convinced he’s “a young Mozart,” she commits to nurturing his talent. As she explains, the musical genius had Kings and Queens to tend to him. “They massaged his tired hands. They fed him candy.” She’ll do the same for Jimmy. The boy’s dad wants him to have a normal life, but Lisa doesn’t seem especially concerned about what he — or Jimmy — wants.
Check out the trailer to see Lisa spiral out of control as she becomes more and more preoccupied with her gifted pupil.
“This story is, above all, about a woman’s awakening to art, and her well-intentioned but twisted journey to deliver a young poet to the world,” writer-director Colangelo told us. “The Kindergarten Teacher” made its world premiere at Sundance, where it took home the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award Winner.
Colangelo made her feature debut with 2014’s “Little Accidents.”
Gyllenhaal received an Oscar nod in 2010 for “Crazy Heart.” She stars in HBO’s “The Deuce,” set to return for a second season September 9.
“The Kindergarten Teacher” will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and drops on Netflix October 12.
