The Kindergarten Teacher

Lisa Spinelli, a kindergarten teacher, faces dissatisfaction in her personal life. Although she is in a loving marriage with her husband Grant, the passion is lacking, and her teenage children, Josh and Lainie, have grown distant.

Each week, Lisa attends a poetry class led by Simon, where her work is dismissed as derivative. This dismissive feedback adds to Lisa's feelings of inadequacy and longing for validation.

Lisa overhears her student, Jimmy, reciting a poem while waiting for his late babysitter. Inspired by his ability, she recognizes the potential in his talent and decides to take a personal interest in fostering his creativity.

Lisa brings Jimmy's poem to her poetry class to share. Her classmates, including Simon, are captivated by the poem's depth and originality, leading them to commend her talent, further fueling her desire to nurture Jimmy's gift.

Lisa enlists Jimmy's babysitter, Becca, to document the poems Jimmy creates. However, Lisa quickly grows concerned that Becca is coddling Jimmy, which she feels is hindering his artistic development.

Meeting Jimmy's father, Nikhil, Lisa expresses her excitement about his son's poetic talent. Despite his father's wishes for Jimmy to lead a normal life, Lisa pushes Nikhil to let go of Becca and seeks to take a more active role in guiding Jimmy's artistry.

Despite Nikhil's caution, Lisa takes Jimmy to a poetry reading event in Manhattan instead of baseball practice. The audience receives Jimmy's poetry warmly, but Simon confronts Lisa afterwards about her deceit regarding the authorship of the poems.

Following the poetry reading, Nikhil learns from Lisa's deception and angrily decides to move Jimmy to another kindergarten. This confrontation highlights the tension between Lisa's ambitions for Jimmy and the expectations of his parents.

Driven by her obsession, Lisa follows Jimmy to his new school and abducts him. She takes him to a motel near the beach, revealing her intent to escape to Canada with him, as she believes it to be an opportunity for him to flourish.

While Lisa bathes, Jimmy, feeling threatened by the situation, calls 911 to report his kidnapping. Despite Lisa's attempts to convince him of the world’s lack of understanding of his talent, he reaches out for help.

Law enforcement arrives at the motel following Jimmy's emergency call. In the chaotic aftermath, Lisa is presumably arrested while Jimmy expresses his need to share a poem, which sadly goes unheard in the commotion.