The expectation in a thriller that pits one writer against another in a bitter rivalry is that there were would be a modicum of credibility. But nothing in "Honor Student" seems credible from the preposterous character relationships to discourse on the art of creative writing.
The fateful meeting of Teresa A. Smith and Nick Howarth occurred in a prison where Nick was teaching creative writing to the inmates. After Teresa told Nick that she was thinking about writing a story about a student who killed her professor, Nick uses that idea for a best-selling novel. That was not an act of plagiarism, yet the filmmakers string the viewer along with the blackmail and extortion threats of Teresa. The witless Nick is so stubborn that he does not want his reputation sullied and gives in to the blackmail.
After stalking and harassing Nick, Teresa feels confident enough to walk in and out of his home, cook him dinner, and bait him until he willingly signs over the rights to his next book to her. Teresa always seems to be wielding a pistol, yet never seems like a threat to use it. Characters are held at gunpoint one minute, then laugh it off in the next.
One point is clear from the film's exposition: Teresa was guilty of manslaughter in the murder of her writing teacher. She was also guilty of assault, harassment, and blackmail. But it was never truly believable that she was capable of writing a successful novel like Nick. The filmmakers worked overtime in the attempt to "empower" Teresa with creative writing abilities that she never possessed. For Creative Writing 101, this film merits the grade of "D."
The fateful meeting of Teresa A. Smith and Nick Howarth occurred in a prison where Nick was teaching creative writing to the inmates. After Teresa told Nick that she was thinking about writing a story about a student who killed her professor, Nick uses that idea for a best-selling novel. That was not an act of plagiarism, yet the filmmakers string the viewer along with the blackmail and extortion threats of Teresa. The witless Nick is so stubborn that he does not want his reputation sullied and gives in to the blackmail.
After stalking and harassing Nick, Teresa feels confident enough to walk in and out of his home, cook him dinner, and bait him until he willingly signs over the rights to his next book to her. Teresa always seems to be wielding a pistol, yet never seems like a threat to use it. Characters are held at gunpoint one minute, then laugh it off in the next.
One point is clear from the film's exposition: Teresa was guilty of manslaughter in the murder of her writing teacher. She was also guilty of assault, harassment, and blackmail. But it was never truly believable that she was capable of writing a successful novel like Nick. The filmmakers worked overtime in the attempt to "empower" Teresa with creative writing abilities that she never possessed. For Creative Writing 101, this film merits the grade of "D."
