Oleanna gets my solid recommendation, at least for people who like small movies with really intense acting performances. Adapted pretty much straightforward from the play it benefits from the intimacy of television, as it gets no benefit from being on a big screen. It is not really a feminist film as neither character is portrayed in a particularly flattering manner.
Oleanna is basically a two-character film, which is divided into three sections, corresponding to three visits by a young college woman to her professor's faculty office. It is a small elite college and coming from a modest background she has had to make a lot of sacrifices to attend the school. As we come to know her we see that she harbors an "extreme" amount of resentment concerning these sacrifices.
The Professor (William Macy who played the role on the stage) is pompous, arrogant, and overbearing. He pontificates excessively and having him as your instructor would not be an inspirational experience. His approach to teaching and the film's title (a reference to a couple who sold swampland to unsuspecting saps) is a slap at the rip-off that passes for higher education.
Carol (Debra Eisenstadt) is flunking his class, her work is inadequate but she feels entitled to special treatment because of her disadvantaged social situation and her many sacrifices to attend the school. It is on this point that the play/film is especially interesting because part of her situation has merit, she simply wants him to teach her-to respect her and her aspirations for an education (i.e. to actually be a teacher). And someone from her background should receive help with the technical terms and theoretical abstractions, which are already familiar to those who received better preparation in high school. Toward the end of her first visit the professor for unknown reasons switches from stern taskmaster into his paternal mode and seems to realize that he really should be doing his job better.
But Carol misinterprets his sudden interest and on her second visit informs him that she and a support "group" are going pursue a sexual harassment complaint with his tenure committee. Her allegations, when viewed out of context appear to have merit and upset him enough that he physically blocks her exit. This simply compounds his trouble.
Her third visit occurs after he has been denied tenure and is packing up to leave the school. While clear that the professor has never had any sexual interest in her and was not trying to trade sexual favors for a grade, Carol's interpretation of his actions seems reasonable and sincere until she attempts to blackmail him and then condescendingly admonishes him about the pet name he uses for his wife. At that point you realize that she is a nut case who has irresponsibly ruined his life, in part because of her resentment about her overall situation at the college and in part because of desire for power.
This makes for a intriguing twist as Carol is revealed as one of those well meaning people so caught up in the rightness of their cause (and the seductive power of suddenly having influence) that they become blind to the human consequences of their actions.
Oleanna is basically a two-character film, which is divided into three sections, corresponding to three visits by a young college woman to her professor's faculty office. It is a small elite college and coming from a modest background she has had to make a lot of sacrifices to attend the school. As we come to know her we see that she harbors an "extreme" amount of resentment concerning these sacrifices.
The Professor (William Macy who played the role on the stage) is pompous, arrogant, and overbearing. He pontificates excessively and having him as your instructor would not be an inspirational experience. His approach to teaching and the film's title (a reference to a couple who sold swampland to unsuspecting saps) is a slap at the rip-off that passes for higher education.
Carol (Debra Eisenstadt) is flunking his class, her work is inadequate but she feels entitled to special treatment because of her disadvantaged social situation and her many sacrifices to attend the school. It is on this point that the play/film is especially interesting because part of her situation has merit, she simply wants him to teach her-to respect her and her aspirations for an education (i.e. to actually be a teacher). And someone from her background should receive help with the technical terms and theoretical abstractions, which are already familiar to those who received better preparation in high school. Toward the end of her first visit the professor for unknown reasons switches from stern taskmaster into his paternal mode and seems to realize that he really should be doing his job better.
But Carol misinterprets his sudden interest and on her second visit informs him that she and a support "group" are going pursue a sexual harassment complaint with his tenure committee. Her allegations, when viewed out of context appear to have merit and upset him enough that he physically blocks her exit. This simply compounds his trouble.
Her third visit occurs after he has been denied tenure and is packing up to leave the school. While clear that the professor has never had any sexual interest in her and was not trying to trade sexual favors for a grade, Carol's interpretation of his actions seems reasonable and sincere until she attempts to blackmail him and then condescendingly admonishes him about the pet name he uses for his wife. At that point you realize that she is a nut case who has irresponsibly ruined his life, in part because of her resentment about her overall situation at the college and in part because of desire for power.
This makes for a intriguing twist as Carol is revealed as one of those well meaning people so caught up in the rightness of their cause (and the seductive power of suddenly having influence) that they become blind to the human consequences of their actions.