'A Teacher' goes beyond lurid headlines to detail emotional toll of a teacher-student relationship

In FX on Hulu's "A Teacher," a Texas high school teacher engages in a sexual relationship with a male student, soon to be 18, who eagerly pursues the liaison.

Those details, which might have softened blame in past times or in the eyes of some people, don't mitigate the guilt of Claire Wilson, a 32-year-old married teacher who deserves the harsh label of predator for grooming and abusing high school senior Eric Walker (Nick Robinson), says Kate Mara, who plays the title character in the 10-episode limited series (Hulu, first three episodes streaming now, with a new episode each Tuesday).

"I think it is harsh – and true," says Mara ("Chappaquiddick," "House of Cards"). "She is the one in the position of power and she is the one that abuses that power. It really doesn't matter what the circumstances are."

As an actor, Mara found Claire's complexity appealing even if she condemns her actions.

"I was excited to explore the psychology behind her choices," she says. "I definitely had my ups and downs with how I felt about her, judging her and also trying not to. As an actor, I was all over the place with hating what she was doing and sympathizing with certain emotions and things like that."

Series creator Hannah Fidell, who wrote and directed the 2013 movie of the same name, agrees with the verdict rendered by Mara, but says the details create a complex framework to explore the relationship's effect on the abuser and her victim. The show goes beyond the typical graphic headlines to explore the underlying emotional turmoil, especially the damage inflicted on Eric, and raise the question of whether Claire can ever deserve forgiveness.

"The show is not the classic 'man in van offers child candy'" abduction story, she says. "It's all about the gray zone, the inherent complication of abuse (of) trust, power dynamics and a double standard of gender and society," she says.

Mara says the series version of "A Teacher," which completed all filming except for a few reshoot scenes before the COVID-19 pandemic, might not have been made without the #MeToo movement which put a spotlight on sexual misconduct and abuses of power as it became increasingly prominent starting in 2017.

Fidell acknowledges her earlier movie's influence on the series but says it is significantly different, too. The show, set primarily in 2014, expands on the pre-#MeToo film both in time (10 approximately half-hour episodes vs. a 75-minute movie) and scope (broadening from examination of the teacher to examination of teacher and student).

"With the film version (in 2012), I don't think the majority of people were looking at this scenario as an obvious abuse of power, but that term is so much more well-known now," says Fidell, whose own experience of sexual assault, perpetrated not by a teacher but a friend, influenced the writing of both projects.

Fidell says there's no national group tracking teacher-student relationships, so she doesn't know the percentage that involves a female teacher and a male student. (The rise of social media has helped break down barriers to student-teacher communication outside of school but has also provided greater documentation of improper relationships, she says.)

The female teacher-male student dynamic allowed for exploration of why abuse cases are sometimes judged differently based on gender, says Robinson ("Love, Simon," "Jurassic World"). In "A Teacher," some of Eric's peers, including friend Logan (Shane Harper), consider him "a legend," not a victim.

"A relationship between a male teacher and a female student (is) more universally condemned. When the roles are reversed, sometimes I found in the clickbait there's a salaciousness, that these relationships are viewed differently," says Robinson, who was 24 when the series was filmed. "I think the show tries to explore why that is when, at the end of the day, the abuse is the same."

In doing research for the role, Robinson learned how males can "refuse to see themselves as survivors or victims of abuse for years and can have a hard time aligning the narrative that their peers create with their own feelings. And that can be really confusing," he says.

In line with the series' topic and filming reforms resulting from #MeToo, both Mara and Robinson say they were satisfied with the care taken when shooting sex scenes for the show.

"It was very carefully thought out. There were never any surprises. We could just be prepared on set because a lot of these scenes are either uncomfortable or awkward," Mara says. "This was the most safe and comfortable I've ever felt on a set."

The plot and tone take dark turns over the episodes, which cover Claire becoming Eric's SAT tutor, their infatuation and involvement, the revelation of their relationship and the life, career and emotional damage that result, especially for Eric.

Aware that some viewers may be disturbed by elements of the story, Fidell partnered with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and episodes include warnings about the depiction of discomforting behaviors and a link to information resources and how to get help.

"We purposely structured (the show) so that we could live in the reality of Eric and his emotional awakening, as he realizes that this isn't just a sort of conquest or love, but that it is abuse," she says. "And as he saw those realities, I think that could be tough to watch for someone who has a personal experience" of abuse.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kate Mara plays teacher who abuses power in FX on Hulu's 'A Teacher'