Mrs. Stephanie Archer is a high school biology teacher who finds herself confronted by two creepy males at her high school. One is a dirty old man named Richard Berg, a fellow biology teacher, who is constantly violating decorum in his outlandish flirtations. The other is a psycho transfer student named James Dearden, who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of his teacher. Made in 2015, "A Student's Obsession" (a.k.a., "Dangerous Lessons") was in desperate need of a #MeToo Movement.
The action takes place primarily at the Coconut Creek High School in South Florida. But, on a fateful field trip to the Florida keys, Mrs. Archer makes the fatal mistake of kissing her student James. Was this a spontaneous moment of weakness on Mrs. Archer's part at a time when her husband Michael was distant and had just lost $300,000 in his business? Or, was James the instigator, catching his teacher off guard for a meaningless kiss? The choice of the filmmakers was to make it appear that Mrs. Archer expended very little effort to resist the kiss that lasted nearly five seconds.
The kiss sets in motion the deranged machinery of James, who has already harassed a female instructor, Miranda King, at another school. James also has a bizarre relationship with his mother, and the pair reside in a trailer outside a large barn filled with farm animals. In his sordid past, the thirteen-year-old James put a bullet in his father's head after he and his mother were on the receiving end of years of abuse from the alcoholic dad.
A singular reference point in the film is the plant known as the Devil's Trumpet, which is used as an aphrodisiac, but is also poisonous. It turns out that one of the flowers shows up on the doorstep of Mrs. Archer's home, courtesy of the wacky Mr. Berg. On a second occasion, the flower is ground into a powder and placed in Mrs. Archer's water at school by James, where she hallucinates and nearly dies. Both of her obsessed admirers are vying with each other for who can best harass Mrs. Archer.
There is some beautiful footage of South Florida in scenes where we see Mrs. Archer running. The actress really looks like a long-distance runner. Overall, the cast is excellent, especially with the scene-stealing performer who plays the sassy high school administrator named Linda, who is always looking out for Mrs. Archer and never misses a beat that goes on under her watchful eyes at the high school. Another memorable scene was when Nicole, the high school daughter of Mrs. Archer, begins a relationship with a wonderful new boy she has met. Mrs. Archer wants the boy to join them for a meal. Guess who's coming to dinner?
The action takes place primarily at the Coconut Creek High School in South Florida. But, on a fateful field trip to the Florida keys, Mrs. Archer makes the fatal mistake of kissing her student James. Was this a spontaneous moment of weakness on Mrs. Archer's part at a time when her husband Michael was distant and had just lost $300,000 in his business? Or, was James the instigator, catching his teacher off guard for a meaningless kiss? The choice of the filmmakers was to make it appear that Mrs. Archer expended very little effort to resist the kiss that lasted nearly five seconds.
The kiss sets in motion the deranged machinery of James, who has already harassed a female instructor, Miranda King, at another school. James also has a bizarre relationship with his mother, and the pair reside in a trailer outside a large barn filled with farm animals. In his sordid past, the thirteen-year-old James put a bullet in his father's head after he and his mother were on the receiving end of years of abuse from the alcoholic dad.
A singular reference point in the film is the plant known as the Devil's Trumpet, which is used as an aphrodisiac, but is also poisonous. It turns out that one of the flowers shows up on the doorstep of Mrs. Archer's home, courtesy of the wacky Mr. Berg. On a second occasion, the flower is ground into a powder and placed in Mrs. Archer's water at school by James, where she hallucinates and nearly dies. Both of her obsessed admirers are vying with each other for who can best harass Mrs. Archer.
There is some beautiful footage of South Florida in scenes where we see Mrs. Archer running. The actress really looks like a long-distance runner. Overall, the cast is excellent, especially with the scene-stealing performer who plays the sassy high school administrator named Linda, who is always looking out for Mrs. Archer and never misses a beat that goes on under her watchful eyes at the high school. Another memorable scene was when Nicole, the high school daughter of Mrs. Archer, begins a relationship with a wonderful new boy she has met. Mrs. Archer wants the boy to join them for a meal. Guess who's coming to dinner?