The Kindergarten Teacher Trailer Explores the Darkness in Educating Young Minds

How far is too far to go, in the name of nurturing a precocious young talent? That would apparently be the question posed by The Kindergarten Teacher, an upcoming American drama due for release on Oct. 12 by Netflix. In the film, Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the titular kindergarten teacher, who discovers that one of her five-year-old students is a potential artistic prodigy—but one whose parents seemingly don’t share much interest in nurturing his gifts. As a result, Gyllenhaal’s teacher becomes dangerously obsessed with the young boy, perhaps believing that she could do a far better job of guiding his development …

If that sounds icky to you, it’s the intended effect. The trailer for The Kindergarten Teacher, embedded below, is subtly disconcerting in a variety of ways. Does the titular teacher truly want what is best for this little boy? Or is she perhaps jealous of the parents, given that she seemingly has no children of her own? Does she resent their apparent lack of interest in fostering their child’s development? And how far would she go to have a hand in sculpting a potential Mozart?

Well, if the trailer is to be believed, it certainly seems like “kidnapping” is on the table as a possibility.

The Kindergarten Teacher is directed by Sara Colangelo, and is based on a 2014 Israeli film by the same name. It premiered back in January at Sundance to strong reviews, and was subsequently snapped up by Netflix, which has been hungry for critically acclaimed dramas that might be able to raise its stature as a platform for serious film.