The English Teacher (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Trailer-Riddick
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	87:27
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Craig Zisk
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Julianne Moore Michael Angarano Greg Kinnear Nathan Lane Lily Collins
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Rob Simonsen

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) is a 45 year old spinster English teacher at Kingston High School, Pennsylvania with a romantic soul, a love for literature and a good rapport with her students. Jason Sherwood (Michael Angarano) had been one of her most promising students. He had moved to New York and written a play, but had been unable to get it produced and so has returned to Kingston in a depressed state, living with his overbearing doctor father Tom (Greg Kinnear) and intending to give up writing and enrol in a Law degree. Linda and Jason meet by accident: she is aghast at his intention to give up writing and after reading Jason’s play “The Chrysalis” she suggests to the school’s drama teacher Carl Kapinas (Nathan Lane) that “The Chrysalis” be the next school drama group production. Carl is very enthusiastic even though the play themes, including anguish, violence, alcoholism and death, are not really high school material. Despite the reservation of the school authorities, and Jason himself, it is agreed that the play will go ahead with some changes.

     With the play in rehearsal Linda becomes overprotective of both the playwright and the play, including helping to fund the escalating cost of the production sets and costumes out of her own pocket. Jason and Linda, despite the difference in age, also have a fleeting sexual encounter so that when Jason starts to become involved with lead actress Halle (Lily Collins) other emotions evolve in Linda’s mind and her secure life starts to unravel. And is Jason’s father really as unsupportive, bullying and overbearing as Linda believes?

     The English Teacher was directed by Craig Zisk who has a range of TV credits including episodes of the Toni Collette staring United States of Tara (2009). He directs The English Teacher in an unfussy and workmanlike manner, which is appropriate for this film, an innocuous situation comedy, a mood reinforced by the light poppy musical score by Rob Simonsen. There are darker elements such as a song by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and things look quite bleak for Linda when news of her sexual encounter with Jason becomes common knowledge at school, but the film never strays too far into drama and you know all along just how it is going to end.

     The English Teacher is predictable and inoffensive despite some potentially dramatic situations. The autumn colours depicted are beautiful to look at, the plot is familiar and experienced actors Julianne Moore and Greg Kinnear know how to make their characters likeable. The English Teacher is a pleasant and untaxing way to spend 90 minutes.

Video

     The English Teacher is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the original theatrical ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.

     Filmed using the Arri-Alexa digital camera, the print is razor sharp and comes with glossy digital colours, with the autumn yellows and reds stunning. The contrast is a little on the light side, which does effect skin tones, but blacks are solid and shadow detail fine.

     There was some slight aliasing on windows, and the end titles occasionally shimmer, but otherwise marks and artefacts were absent.

     English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available.

     The layer change was not noticeable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps plus an English descriptive audio by a male voice in Dolby Digital 2.0 at 256 Kbps.

     Dialogue was clear, centred and easy to hear. This is not a film that required any audio fireworks; the rears and surrounds occasionally added some music, weather effects such as thunder and rain, and clapping during the final scenes. I did not notice any use of the sub-woofer, but nor was it needed.

    I did not notice any lip synchronisation problems.

     The light hearted music score by Rob Simonsen was augmented by a few pop songs, including one by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It suited the film.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Trailer

     On start-up there is the trailer for Riddick (2:19). This trailer cannot be selected from the menu.

     The Region 1 US version has listed as an extra a Making of with cast and crew interviews (30 min), a deleted scene and a trailer. The Region 2 UK release has no extras listed. The US release would seem to be the better version if your system can play it.

     The English Teacher is predictable and innocuous and despite some potentially dramatic situations the film never strays too far into drama and you know all along just how it is going to end.

     The video and audio are fine; a trailer for another film is the only extra and we miss out of the extras available in Region 1.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall