Nancy Wallach

While introduced by a voiceover that sets a literary, fairytale like tone for the story, the film touches upon some very real life problems of social prejudice and double standards that still persist for women in our society. A disgruntled student records the main character, an English teacher played by Julianne Moore, admitting to having sex with a former student who has now returned back to his hometown after completing a graduate program in playwriting. She and a colleague played by Nathan Lane, do not change the ending of the play, as they have agree to do in order to obtain permission from the school administration to get the play produced. In the process, they both lie to the administration and the playwright, who does not know of their agreement. It seems that Julianne Moore’s character has all of the anger directed at her. She bears the brunt of the disapproval and social approbation, from her students, her principal, the playwright and his father. When she agrees to step in, even after being fired, and directs the play, rewrites the ending to strengthen it and succeed in getting it produced, she receives no public credit or appreciation for her efforts, much less an apology. Her colleague, who did not defend her or own up to equal guilt in the deception, along with the students who cruelly shamed her, instead steps in and takes the bows, inviting only the playwright, who did not write the improved version of the play, to share the spotlight. The former student who pursued a legally underage actress in his play does not seem to have exhibited any growth or undergone any itself awareness as the film concludes. After witnessing the lead character’s suffering, so well portrayed by Julianne Moore, we are once again returned to an unconvincing fairytale like happy ending.