Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A big hit at the 2013 Palm Springs International Film Festival (I think there were three sold out screenings), it’s among the better films, if not the best film, I’ve seen so far this year. Director Fred Schepisi’s compelling melodrama about two teachers at a Maine prep school who battle each other and their own demons satisfies not only for the story but also because of the undisputed chemistry of the two perfect leads. Clive Owen is Jack Marcus, an aggressive, gifted, honors English teacher who preaches the power of the written – and spoken – word. For a while, he manages to hide his serious drinking problem that threatens to destroy his world. When Juliet Binoche’s Dina Delsanto the new art teacher arrives, Marcus is energized and soon there’s an open debate in the school about whether words or pictures have the greater power. It’s a battle between the dominance of the left and right brain. Delsanto is already an acclaimed abstract artist, but she no longer paints because of painful, crippling rheumatoid arthritis. But soon she is forced to paint again when the war between the two teachers becomes a school-wide event. One of the most amazing scenes in the film is crippled Delsanto painting in a way that cleverly allows her to spread paint as she wishes on a large flat canvas. (In actual fact, Binoche is an accomplished artist and what she paints in the film is her striking original art.) Gerald Di Pago’s original script is richly detailed and tight. And it stays on track. What a welcome relief to idiotically flat so-called romantic comedies like Adam Sandler’s BLENDED. Di Pago is a veteran screenwriter (he wrote the cult fave SHARKEY’S MACHINE). He was also a high school English teacher and understands the specialized angst of curious young co-ed students and self-satisfied, sometimes glib teachers ensconced in a semi-closed setting. The world of the story rings true as does the push-pull fascination between the two teachers who we hope will somehow get together and find healing for the pain they experience. I’m giving nothing away here as that is the core question the movie asks. If you like intelligent, adult romances, don’t miss this great looking, emotionally satisfying film that massages both halves of your brain’s hemispheres. Highest recommendation.