A TEACHER on FX and HULU

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on FX and HULU from writer/director Hannah Fidell is a limited series story of an educator and the line she crosses being A TEACHER.

Claire Wilson (Kate Mara) married to Matt (Ashley Zukerman) is starting a job at Westerbrook in Austin, Texas as an English teacher and meets new friend Kathryn (Marielle Scott). She seems happy to be starting something new and exciting as well as trying to start a family with Matt. Eric Walker (Nick Robinson) is a popular kid hanging out with friends Logan (Shane Harper) and Josh (Dylan Schmid) when they see Claire. Eric hangs back and they talk about what he wants from school.

Eric heads over to Logans and sees ex-girlfriend Alison (Camila Perez) but they do not have much of a chance to reconnect because the police are busting up the party. Giving a statement to Officer Nate (Adam Thompson), Eric confides that that he cannot call his Mom and asks that he call Claire to set things right. To help him refocus on school, Eric and Claire visit her alma mater and Logan’s older brother Cody entices them to party.

Dealing with the pressure of good grades and getting into college, Eric also helps single Mom Sandra (Rya Kihlstedt) with two young brothers. Needed at home, there comes a moment where he makes a decision about his family that puts his priorities in question.

Enjoying each other’s company as student and teacher, Eric crosses the line and now Claire is conflicted about what to do. Focusing on her marriage, there is tension between the couple when they learn that to have a family, they would need to explore the option of an invitro pregnancy. Adding to the tension is Claire seeing Eric at the dance and confronting him about missing their tutoring meeting.

Now, the line is about to be crossed and both of them turn to lying, deception and it will tear their worlds apart.

Mara as Claire is a woman who believes that starting over at a new school is also a new beginning for she and husband Matt. Seeing the lines becoming blurred with her student, she tries to pull back but can not seem to control herself which means she cannot control anything around her. Pulling in every direction to justify her actions, Mara gives her character moments of likeability then the reality of what is happening screams out.

Robinson as Eric is a young man who thinks he knows what he wants. Trusting in the relationship, he does not see further down the road to the ramifications or the damage that is being done. Robinson gives us a wild young man who wants what he wants as young men his age think, its what comes later that he could have never imagined.

Scott as friend Kathryn is also a teacher at Westbrook and unwittingly becomes the person that Claire needs in her life. The problem with that is friendship should be a two-way street and not filled with deception.

Hulu is the leading premium streaming service offering live and on-demand television and movies. The platform gives viewers instant access to current shows, libraries of hit television series and film as well as Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning originals such as The Handmaid’s Tale and The Act. For more of what Hulu has to offer please visit www.hulu.com.

A TEACHER is a story of betrayal most of all as Claire is in a position to know right from wrong and chooses a course of destructive action. Eric is a young man who trusts Claire and decides that his feelings are more important than the fact she happens to be married and his teacher.

Claire is absolutely responsible for her behavior and the broken trust but let’s not give Eric a free pass in this all. Clearly, he is old enough to know what is wrong as shown by his response after kissing Claire and once the line is crossed – everything becomes blurred.

Once the word is out, that is when the destructive path becomes blurred again. Even the face-to-face meeting between them is agonizing and gruesome to watch. As with most affairs, the consequences are far reaching past Claire and Eric and seeing the pain it causes families, friendships and the education system.

There has never been a story about a teacher and student affair that has not caused a stir and the biggest story of 1997 was teacher Mary Kay Letourneau. Having an affair and a child with her student, it opened the door to other stories of teachers breaking the trust of students and their families.

FX takes a bold risk to make the story just as writer Hannah Fidell is equally bold in directing this cast. HULU brings each episode to streaming which is a wild ride for binge watchers looking for drama, tragedy and tension.

In the end – this is what happens when a line of trust is crossed!

MEGAN LEAVEY Inspires Coming to Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray/DVD and Digital HD from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Bleeker Street is the inspirational film based on the story of MEGAN LEAVEY.

Megan (Kate Mara) is a young woman staggering through life. Unhappy with her job and unhappy living at home with mom Jackie (Edie Falco) and her boyfriend Jim (Will Patton), it seems the days just blur.

That is until she makes the decision to hop a bus and join the U.S. Marine Corps. It didn’t take long until Megan was in trouble within the Corps as well that has her cleaning the kennels of the K9 unit.

There she meets Rex, a four legged anti-social dog who gives trainers a difficult time. Megan continues to ask Gunny Martin (Common) to become part of the K9 unit. When a situation presents itself, Megan and Rex are paired together and so begins a training of each other to become a strong unit through patience and friendship.

Sent to Camp Ramadi in Iraq, Megan and Rex are sent on missions to sniff out IED’s clearing the way for soldiers and the Iraqi people. She also meets Matt Morales (Ramon Rodriguez) who is also part of the K9 unit and starts to become comfortable being part of a team.

Then a mission puts both of their lives in danger changing the path for them both. Megan knows that she can not continue on her path without Rex and with dad Bob’s (Bradley Whitford) push, she is will get Rex back at her side and will do anything to make that happen.

In that is the true meaning of friendship!

Mara as Megan portrays a young woman who clearly has problems dealing with home and family. Making a swift move to join the military, Mara’s character puts up serious walls until she creates an unbreakable bond with Rex. What is amazing is that feeling this connection and watching the story unfold between Megan and Rex; it is not surprising that they would work together so brilliantly. Mara and Rex are lovely in this film and the audience fell in love with them both.

Common as Gunny Martin is a man who clearly doesn’t take any guff from anyone – including a pint size Megan Leavey. Testing her potential and patiently watching to see if her dedication to the K9 unit is solid, he gives us both the tough Gunny as well as a man who understands the hurt of battle.

Rodriguez as Morales is a wise cracking but dedicated part of the K9 unit in Iraq. He manages to bring down some of Megan’s emotional walls but it can take the snap of fingers to bring them back up. Patton as Jim is not someone Megan is thrilled to have around and this is a small role.

Whitford as Megan’s father Bob is a man who realizes that choices he made in his life have affected his daughter. Wanting to reach out and help her, he just isn’t sure how to do it or if it would make a difference. This is a different role for Whitford and he delivers with a lovely scene when Megan returns from Iraq.

Falco as Jackie is – well – Falco. She is an over dramatic and wildly awesome to watch as Megan’s mother. Big or small, Falco brings her best to every role she does and always manages to surprise me.

Other cast include Geraldine James as Dr. Turbeville, Shannon Tarbet as Barb, Miguel Gomez as Gomez, Jonathan Howard as Peter Walters, George Webster as Finn, Corey Johnson as Master Sergeant and Tom Felton as Andrew Dean.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us all to experience and re-experience in our own home theatres. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

MEGAN LEAVEY could very easily be called a feel good film but that would be an injustice to the story being told. There are so many issues that are handled in this story with straight forwardness, no sugar-coating and boldly done.

It is the story of a young woman dealing with the situation her life is in and knowing at some point something had to give. Joining the Marine Corps gives Megan the opportunity to become part of something bigger than herself and not just fighting in a war but becoming responsible for Rex and the lives of everyone around her. Mara takes this role and lets us all experience the journey of this young woman until the end where we come to understand more than we ever could.

Director Cowperthwaite says of her film, “There are so many important story threads, what about the political commentary about the war one could make or about a ton of things regarding women Marines and dealing with their situations…and to focus on this world from Megan’s perspective. You have to hone in on that relationship and how that bond gets built because that is really what the story is – loyalty and friendship.”

In regards to PTSD and returning troops she says, “Dealing with PTSD when our military come home and how we can maybe look at it different, pay attention and be better listeners I think that would be a great thing.”

MEGAN LEAVEY is a story that is well done dealing with issues that might be uncomfortable for some to see but necessary to experience. This film speaks on love, understanding, patience and a friendship that saved not only the lives of others – but of one another as well.

The Bluray includes the Bonus Features of Never Give Up: An Inside Look at How Megan Leavey Learned to Trust Rex!

We are proud to offer a chance for Military Press readers to win a Bluray copy of MEGAN LEAVEY. Go to hellomoviemaven@aol.com with “Megan & Rex” in the subject line along with your name and address. We will be chose winners at random and will notify by email.

In the end – a true story of a marine and her best friend!

MEGAN LEAVEY Speaks on Loyalty, Friendship and PTSD

Jeri Jacquin

In theaters this Friday from director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and Bleeker Street Media is a compelling story that needs to be seen because of MEGAN LEAVEY.

Megan (Kate Mara) is a young woman staggering through life. Unhappy with her job and unhappy living at home with mom Jackie (Edie Falco) and her boyfriend Jim (Will Patton), it seems the days just blur.

That is until she makes the decision to hop a bus and join the U.S. Marine Corps. It didn’t take long until Megan was in trouble within the Corps as well that has her cleaning the kennels of the K9 unit.

There she meets Rex, a four legged anti-social dog who gives trainers a difficult time. Megan continues to ask Gunny Martin (Common) to become part of the K9 unit. When a situation presents itself, Megan and Rex are paired together and so begins a training of each other to become a strong unit through patience and friendship.

Sent to Camp Ramadi in Iraq, Megan and Rex are sent on missions to sniff out IED’s clearing the way for soldiers and the Iraqi people. She also meets Matt Morales (Ramon Rodriguez) who is also part of the K9 unit and starts to become comfortable being part of a team.

Then a mission puts both of their lives in danger changing the path for them both. Megan knows that she can not continue on her path without Rex and with dad Bob’s (Bradley Whitford) push, she is will get Rex back at her side and will do anything to make that happen.

In that is the true meaning of friendship!

Mara as Megan portrays a young woman who clearly has problems dealing with home and family. Making a swift move to join the military, Mara’s character puts up serious walls until she creates an unbreakable bond with Rex. What is amazing is that feeling this connection and watching the story unfold between Megan and Rex; it is not surprising that they would work together so brilliantly. Mara and Rex are lovely in this film and the audience fell in love with them both.

Common as Gunny Martin is a man who clearly doesn’t take any guff from anyone – including a pint size Megan Leavey. Testing her potential and patiently watching to see if her dedication to the K9 unit is solid, he gives us both the tough Gunny as well as a man who understands the hurt of battle.

Rodriguez as Morales is a wise cracking but dedicated part of the K9 unit in Iraq. He manages to bring down some of Megan’s emotional walls but it can take the snap of fingers to bring them back up. Patton as Jim is not someone Megan is thrilled to have around and this is a small role.

Whitford as Megan’s father Bob is a man who realizes that choices he made in his life have affected his daughter. Wanting to reach out and help her, he just isn’t sure how to do it or if it would make a difference. This is a different role for Whitford and he delivers with a lovely scene when Megan returns from Iraq.

Falco as Jackie is – well – Falco. She is an over dramatic and wildly awesome to watch as Megan’s mother. Big or small, Falco brings her best to every role she does and always manages to surprise me.

Other cast include Geraldine James as Dr. Turbeville, Shannon Tarbet as Barb, Miguel Gomez as Gomez, Jonathan Howard as Peter Walters, George Webster as Finn, Corey Johnson as Master Sergeant and Tom Felton as Andrew Dean.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give MEGAN LEAVEY four and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. It is be very easy to call this a feel good film but that would be an injustice to the story being told. There are so many issues that are handled in this story with straight forwardness, no sugar-coating and boldly done.

It is the story of a young woman dealing with the situation her life is in and knowing at some point something had to give. Joining the Marine Corps gives Megan the opportunity to become part of something bigger than herself and not just fighting in a war but becoming responsible for Rex and the lives of everyone around her. Mara takes this role and lets us all experience the journey of this young woman until the end where we come to understand more than we ever could.

Director Cowperthwaite says of her film, “There are so many important story threads, what about the political commentary about the war one could make or about a ton of things regarding women Marines and dealing with their situations…and to focus on this world from Megan’s perspective. You have to hone in on that relationship and how that bond gets built because that is really what the story is – loyalty and friendship.”

In regards to PTSD and returning troops she says, “Dealing with PTSD when our military come home and how we can maybe look at it different, pay attention and be better listeners I think that would be a great thing.”

MEGAN LEAVEY is a story that is well done dealing with issues that might be uncomfortable for some to see but necessary to experience. This film speaks on love, understanding, patience and a friendship that saved not only the lives of others – but of one another as well.

In the end – a true story of a marine and her best friend!