Metacritic score: 78
Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in Netflix’s original film The Kindergarten Teacher as Lisa, a married mother of two teenagers who lives on Staten Island, teaches at a kindergarten in Manhattan, and aspires to be a poet. She’s studying poetry in a continuing education class, but her instructor (Gael Garcia Bernal) thinks her work is derivative. Then, one day, one of her kindergarten students (Parker Sevak) starts reciting poetry he’s written himself, and she starts writing it down. Her instructor likes it — and she becomes more and more interested in the boy who’s writing it, infusing the film with ambiguous tension.
Directed by Sara Colangelo, who adapted the story from a 2014 Israeli film by the same name, The Kindergarten Teacher is a haunting and sometimes uncomfortable dip into the mind and desires of a woman who feels stifled by the life she’s chosen for herself and aspires to be as creative as the poets she admires. It’s a perceptive, complex, and sensitive depiction that at times feels like a psychological thriller, and Gyllenhaal shines in the role.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via
