Maynard Handley I found the storyline of this movie appealing (I like works of art that are happy to admit some people enjoy their comfortable routine lives and do not crave "excitement" and "adventure"). Julianne Moore was as gorgeous as always, and portrayed her character's range of experiences well. BUT Two big flaws:The first flaw comes towards the end of the movie. We've built up this fraught and tense situation where Ms Sullivan has burned all her bridges. She returns to school, mocked by the students and tremendously embarrassed. We then basically jump forward three weeks to a totally different social environment where she appears to be once-again respected and integrated into the school. WTF? How did that happen? The answer we get is a complete cop-out. It's hinted that some combination of "grin and bear it" on her part and the awesome ending she wrote for the play did the job, but, seriously, that is not how the world works. Teenagers are freaking monsters, not to forget that she earned (for good reason) the enmity of one of them whom she tried to destroy. That's all not going to go away, and pretending that it does destroys any pretense the movie has to somehow commenting on life.The second flaw is not as serious, but the voice-over in the last few minutes is ham-fisted as all heck. It's totally unnecessary, totally idiotic. Throughout the movie (including commentary about the play) we've been told about nuance, about filling in the blanks, about the audience making inferences, then we get this stupidity!

spelvini With any other actress in the lead role of a spinster English teacher in a small Pennsylvania town The English Teacher may have flopped entirely on its own misshapen face, but under the devices of Juliann Moore nerdy Linda Sinclair shows us a lot about how best intentions can cause the worst outcomes and teach us so much about life.Teaching high-school English in Kingston, PA Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) is a judgmental customer when it comes to dating. At 45, and unmarried she views every potential mate with a harsh grading system much like the one she uses in her class room where students are delighted by her firm but supportive guidance. When former star pupil Jason Sherwood (Michael Angarano) comes to town disheartened from his labors in New York to become a playwright, Linda attempts to show her students and surly Jason what it's like to see creative writing fleshed out. Linda pushes the young writers play into production at the high school much to the chagrin of his father Dr. Tom Sherwood (Greg Kinnear) who wants his son to become a lawyer. When Linda and Jason sleep together the event shakes the English teacher out of her well-constructed cocoon and when the student body gets wind of the affair, Linda discovers that she must come out of her shell completely to save her job, save the show, and rebuild her own self respect.They say that the best comedies are terrible things that happen to other people. When we see poor Julianne Moore's hopeless romantic Linda Sinclair's life tumble our initial reaction is thwarted by a cavalcade of events that progressively erode into a tragedy except for the fact that her character loves every aspect of what is happening to her because it fuels a deep-seated need for drama in her sheltered world.The filmmakers have a host of support actors led by the stalwart Nathan Lane as the wise and sensitive drama teacher Carl Kapinas (whose name all the students purposely mispronounce to make it sound dirty) and Lily Collins, Norbert Leo Butz, Jessica Hecht, Charlie Saxton and others. Watching Jason's play in rehearsal offers some of the most hilarious moments in the film, and anyone who has been in high school productions, or community theatre for that matter will see some of their friends here.The films overall subversive nature is off-putting for anyone really thinking about what the screenwriters Dan Chariton, and Stacy Chariton are putting out there. On the one hand they have their story narrated by an unseen Narrator presented by Fiona Shaw whose voice like the goddess of English Literature reminds us of the correct direction of the tale as it unfolds. This traditional and romantic viewpoint is undermined by the real-life events of a young playwright attempting to have his own writer's voice heard. The clashes of these two realities coalesce into an unusual parable about male and female relationships as unattainable in the post-modern world.The overall idea that our public literature classes are producing staid and packaged pseudo intellectuals is addressed by the suggestive Narrator of the story being essentially shut out as Linda finds the right man for her. This is high comedy, something we smile at as the screen fades and anyone who has been in high school will feel the effects of the banal questioning from teachers after we have read A Tale of Two Cities, begging us to understand the idea of self-sacrifice.

leonblackwood Review: I quite enjoyed this movie because I didn't know what to expect. The storyline surprised with the direction that the director took it, and the acting was very believable, especially from Julianne Moore. It had the ability to have many other twists, but the director kept it simple and straightforward. The second half of the movie was a bit disappointing because the first half was going from one impossible situation to the next which makes it seem like it was written by 2 different people. At the end of the day it's a simple sweet movie which is watchable but nothing amazing.Round-Up: Julianne Moore put in a great performance in this movie and she done a great job with bringing emotion to her role. I expected more from Greg Kinnear who has started in some big movies lately, but that was due to the writer who seemed to have concentrated on Julianne Moore character. The teachers made me laugh, but there not in the movie that much! which is a shame because there chemistry was a joy to watch. It does seem like a small low budget movie, even with Moore & Kinnear, but it's written well and the mixture of humour and drama really worked.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $105,000 (Terrible!)I recommend this movie to people who are into there comedy/dramas about a school teacher who ends up falling for her student. 4/10

Claudio Carvalho In Kingston, Pennsylvania, the forty-five year-old lonely spinster Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) is a high-school English teacher with a routine life that loves literature. When she stumbles with her former student Jason Sherwood (Michael Angarano), she learns that he has returned from New York after failing as a playwright in Broadway. Linda borrows his play named "The Chrysalis" to read and she loves the play. Then she shows "The Chrysalis" to the drama teacher Carl Kapinas (Nathan Lane) and they decide to produce the play in the high-school. However Vice Principal Phil Pelaski (Norbert Leo Butz) and Principal Trudie Slocum (Jessica Hecht) are against the production since the conclusion is too dark for the students and they can not exceed the budget. Carl offers to change the ending and Linda offers to cover any amount that exceeds the budget. However, along the rehearsals, the naive Linda learns that real life is not a literature and people are flawed and may disappoint."The English Teacher" is an unpleasant movie with despicable characters; Julianne Moore's actress and her character are the only attraction of this movie. Jason Sherwood is a liar and ungrateful character; Carl Kapinas is a sophisticated ridiculous character incapable to keep and assume his own word; Halle Anderson and Will are among the worst that you can expect from teenagers. Linda Sinclair is unselfish teacher that sponsors the production of the play for love for the art, but is not supported by the selfish Jason Sherwood and Carl Kapinas and has her career destroyed by the disgusting Halle Anderson and Will. My questions to the writers Dan Chariton and Stacy Chariton are: Do you believe your story is funny? What is the message of this story? My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "Adorável Professora" ("Adorable Teacher")