Top 10 Film Teachers (Good and Bad)

Note: for the purposes of this list, strictly teachers within an academic environment (so no Mr Miyagi). I also take the importance of role into account, so as much as I love every time Mr Strickland appears in Back to the Future, I can't quite put him on here. 

Note: two films I need to see, Stand and Deliver and Picnic at Hanging Rock

10. Dewey Finn (Jack Black), School of Rock

Jack Black is a bit of a mixed bag for me, I love his presence as a member of Tenacious D and in supporting roles in the likes of High Fidelity and King Kong where his enthusiastic presence adds a lot to both films. I like some of his leading man work like in Be Kind Rewind, and I really should check out Bernie sometime soon, but otherwise I've not been particularly keen on him as an actor. I like him best when he's a bit more natural. In School of Rock he's just that, and the film utilizes his character perfectly as a bit of an unwilling spark to its proceedings, a aspiring rock star turned substitute turned rock star again with the help of his students. Though the character is technically self-serving and egotistic, initally, Black's charisma and his chemistry with his child co-stars is undeniably good.

9. Edward R. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), Ferris Bueller's Day Off

A hilarious performance in a great comedy film, one of my favourites from the 80s, and Jones' deadpan portrayal of the exasparated Dean of Studies who's not entirely unjustified in his pursuit of Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick). Jones whole performance is built upon him taking a dead serious and thus, intensely funny approach to the role, which makes scenes like his Clint Eastwood squint scene all the more goofy. The character is not written with all that many lines but Jones milks them for all they're worth, each of his reaction shots are priceless and he has great chemistry with Edie McClurg as his secretary Grace.

8. Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot), The Chorus

A slight, small and rather sweet film that delivers on what it advertises. Mathieu is a quiet, understated, failed musician who comes to a French boarding school for 'troubled' boys to teach them music, and finds in the grounds some kindred souls, in particular Pépinot, a young orphan, and Pierre Morhange, a sullen boy with a beautiful voice. Jugnot's role may be relatively simple, but the script, direction and performance give such life to this kind man who's so inspirational, and yet when the script takes a darker turn in the third act, acts as an equally effective emotional anchor. Jugnot's performance is subtle but in certain moments extremely powerful - the moment he finds out the student's mother he is secretly in love with has found a new partner is heartbreaking.

7. Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), Notes on a Scandal

Now for one of the more devious sorts on the list, Dench's performance here is essential to the film working, especially since Cate Blanchett is giving one of her decidedly less effective performances here. As the duplicitous Ms Covett, a quietly charming but innerly calculating spinster who has her eyes on Blanchett's insecure art teacher, Dench does a pretty impressive job of bringing out both the approachable and reprehensible sides to the character. She brings some of that Shakesperean gravitas to the schoolgrounds and gives an otherwise pretty bog-standard 'thriller' some style to spare.

6.  Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), Election

An underrated performance in an underrated film, for sure. Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of Tracy Flick, one of the most reprehensible and yet somewhat endearing high school students ever is the MVP here, but so often neglected is Broderick's work as her nemesis Mr McAllister, the  popular schoolteacher who will stop at nothing to bring Flick's student election campaign down. Ferris Bueller playing a self-appointed righteous teacher is already great casting, and to add to that Broderick is hilarious with every one of his reactions to the escalating stakes, plays both the devious and the more genuine sides of his character perfectly, manages to explore the darker side of his character's ego, and manages to somehow make the ending fate of his character somewhat sympathetic (even though he gets everything he deserved, frankly).

5. Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith)/Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)/Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), Harry Potter series

Three great British thespians in three perfectly cast roles, even if I'd always imagined Umbridge as more of the toadlike sort. Smith and Rickman were probably the two most consistent actors throughout the whole series (I'd add in Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid if only the last few films didn't shortchange him so much in terms of screentime), with the former blasting out her biting one-liners with such delight, and the latter acting as one of the most intimidating and ultimately heartbreaking anchors of the films. As for Staunton, the films did one thing particularly well in staying true to the book's description of the character; she's sickly sweet, with emphasis on the 'sick', and makes for a great villain to make up for the two relatively underwhelming films she appears in.

4. John Keating (Robin Williams), Dead Poets Society

'O Captain, my captain...' A classic for the ages, Dead Poets Society is perhaps as poignant a watch now as ever with the sad passing of Robin Williams a few years ago. The film is not only notable for his excellent, Oscar-nominated performance as the just about perfect English teacher Mr Keating, who sets fire to convention and encourages his boys to break free of hitherto ordained literary constraints. It's also great in that Keating's relationship with each of the boys, whether it be the shy and tentative Todd Anderson (a very young Ethan Hawke) or the lovelorn Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles), you see how much Keating impacts them in a very specific way. The ending scene is a fantastic ending scene, which is only to be expected for a Peter Weir film, and much of that power comes from how well the teacher-student relationship is built up through the film.

3. Albert Lory (Charles Laughton), This Land is Mine

A powerful film that creeps up on you unsuspectingly, as for a while the film is quite daring in its depiction of Albert Lory, a teacher in an unspecified Nazi-occupied country who is difficult watch in a very unusual way. He's possibly the most weak-willed, unimposing and downright pathetic teacher ever brought to the silver screen. The normally domineering Laughton quite impressively downplays himself into such a meek man and the film in a similar fashion tricks you into thinking it's the lesser of its sums. The film soon takes a darker turn when the Nazis begin interfering with the school and horrifically killing some of its personnel. Laughton brings a gradual growth to his work as Lory gradually finds strength within him to stand up to the Nazis. His final courtroom speech and exit from the classroom is ever bit as moving as Keating's, and is another example of why Laughton was such an exceptional actor. The film though it might not seem much at first, is definitely worth a watch.

2. Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier), To Sir, with Love

Sidney Poitier as a teacher, in any context, sounds to good to be true. In a well-written role in a fairly impressive film, he's simply perfect. Thackeray is on paper not the most original character, an unemployed engineer from America who goes to East London to take on a teaching position, overseeing a bunch of ruly kids. Yet in Poitier's hands he's one of a kind. Not a perfect man, no, and the film never shies away from the moments he loses his cool and reserve, or his earlier ineptitudes in controlling the class. But he gradually grows into a perfect teacher who brings the whole dysfunctional class together with his tough but loving approach, and no matter what Poitier is doing onscreen he's dynamite to watch.

1. Miss Jean Brodie (Maggie Smith), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Easy choice, though I'll wait until the future to do an extended discussion of this performance. I've only read one Muriel Spark novel (and a short story), but The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is one of my all-time favourite books. It's brimming with wit and humour, but also laced with some very dark edges in its depiction of an all-girls school in Edinburgh, and its enigmatic domneering centre. The narrative style of  prolepssis sequencing is not retained in the adaptation, but pretty much everything else is retained. The actresses playing the schoolgirls are slightly older for the parts, but due to the sometimes rather mature nature of the source material that's to be expected, and all are effective, especially Pamela Franklin as Sandy. Celia Johnson, one of my favourite actresses is also very strong as the stiff-necked headmistress, but the highlight is of course Smith and the fabulous handling of the writing behind her by Jay Presson Allen. Smith's performance is terrific on all levels from her uniquely handled Scottish accent, her physical portrayal of Brodie's disposition in the classroom, outside of the classroom, with her students and with her lovers. Her clipped, no-nonsense delivery is utlized beautifully here as both a leader of young women and the tyrannical, unsparing presence among them. She makes us completely belive how these young ladies all long to become her, but by the end also realize what a haunting influence she is on their lives.