Time - USA (2020-11-16)

FX on Hulu’s A TeAcher opens witH a
warning: “This series contains sexual sit-
uations as well as depictions of grooming
that may be disturbing.” Although this
framing suggests a clear-cut narrative
of predation, the show functions more
as a thought experiment for a culture
whose views on sexual misconduct have
evolved quickly of late. Yes, some in-
dustries are purging their Harvey Wein-
steins. Yet A Teacher, out Nov. 10, illumi-
nates areas of the #MeToo discourse that
remain murky: What if the criminal is a
pretty woman and her ostensible victim
a young man? What if they’re in love?
Creator Hannah Fidell first weighed
these questions in a 2013 film also ti-
tled A Teacher. The expanded format of
TV allows for richer characters whose
story spans a decade, and offers sharper

insights into gender, power and consent.

Kate Mara plays Claire, a 30-some-

thing teacher in a floundering marriage.

High school senior Eric (Love, Simon’s

Nick Robinson) is both a popular athlete

with boorish jock pals and a bright, ma-

ture striver who babysits his kid brothers

to help his single mom. Mostly, he seems

to pursue Claire, though her breath-

takingly bad judgment is evident from the

start. It takes too long for things to come

unraveled, but the show finds its pur-

pose once the pair has been pulled apart.

Their subsequent trajectories are surpris-

ing yet believable. Eric, in particular, is a

complex character on a long path to self-

knowledge; Robinson does justice to an

identity under construction, imparting

layers of charm, intelligence, naiveté.

It’s no coincidence that #MeToo

started in Hollywood. For decades, film

and TV normalized teacher- student “af-

fairs.” Creators have to be more careful

now, with good reason, but A Teacher

avoids didacticism. Instead of hunting

witches, Fidell reveals the myriad ways

that adolescent trauma can stain a life—

or two. The tragedy is that it’s possible to

mean no harm but inflict it anyway.

A TEACHER streams Nov. 10 on FX on Hulu

TELEVISION

Teacher-student romance, revisited

By Judy Berman

△

For Claire (Mara), abuse of power

comes as something of a surprise