Review: ‘The Tutor’ Is A Confusing Amalgamation Of Much Better Thrillers

Photo from Roger Ebert

THE TUTOR (2023)

Intrigue and drama takes a back seat to a rushed plot and poor performances in The Tutor, a film that I desperately wanted to like, but ended up frustrated with.

In the film, a tutor (Garrett Hedlund) is assigned to work with a new student (Noah Schnapp), a young man who he soon finds is obsessed with his life and his past. It’s difficult to find a place to start when discussing the failures of this film, but the script seems like a logical place. Between the cookie cutter dialogue and underdeveloped history of the characters, this truly feels like a film that was written by AI. Even the worst scripts, however, can be salvaged by the performer tasked with bringing the words to life. Unfortunately for The Tutor and director Jordan Ross, Hedlund and Schnapp simply do not deliver. Each line, every movement… it’s all devoid of emotion and interest.

What results is a film that is trying to be smarter than it really is, a confusing amalgamation of better executed thrillers that can’t hide behind a serviceable soundtrack and okay visuals. There simply isn’t any investment to be had in these characters or the story; it all comes off silly. This is a miss in every sense of the word.

The Tutor is now available on VOD/Digital.

Rating: 1/5