Movies about inspirational teachers are a well-worn subgenre. Whether it’s “School of Rock” or “Dangerous Minds,” the relationship between a caring teacher and a group of (usually) troubled students offers easy access for heartstring-pulling and triumphant feelings of hard-earned success. The new film “Brave the Dark” treads this familiar territory, but it’s more of a unique one-on-one connection between teacher and student.

The film, which is about an unconventional chosen family, is co-written by Nathaniel Deen, based on his own life story about being taken in by his drama teacher, Stan Deen. The film is also a family affair in front of and behind the camera — it’s directed by Damian Harris and stars his brothers, Jared and Jamie Harris (the trio are the sons of the late Irish actor Richard Harris).

Nicholas Hamilton stars as young Nate Williams, a track star with a cute girlfriend and a wild streak. A leather jacket-wearing bad boy, when he’s arrested in school for burglary, he takes the fall to protect his friends, with his drama teacher Mr. Deen (Jared Harris) taking an interest in his situation. What he discovers is that Nate has been living in his car in order to attend high school, after bouncing around foster homes. His grandparents won’t take him in unless he drops out of school and gets a job, but Mr. Deen sees a kid who might slip through the cracks unless someone catches him, and he sticks out his hand.

“Brave the Dark” is being distributed by Angel Studios, known for their Christian-themed fare often based around inspirational true stories. “Brave the Dark” isn’t overtly religious — with the exception of a narrative emphasis on Christmas. The miracles in this tale of a kind teacher who sees the potential in a troubled kid are distinctly human.

Nate is haunted by memories and visions of his dark childhood and the violent loss of his mother. The full extent of the deeply sad and tragic event that continue to follow him make up the mystery threaded throughout this story, and it’s the only real narrative pull throughout. But once we learn that intimate partner violence played a role, one can imagine the dreadful outcome, as the movie makes its way to the inevitable final reveal.

This is fairly standard storytelling about a kid with a dark past and a teacher fighting for his future. The beats are well-trodden — kind and supportive teacher stands up for troubled kid, troubled kid pushes away the help because he’s self-sabotaging and never known true kindness and care. Part of Nate’s journey is learning to pull himself out of his genetic trap, what he witnessed in early childhood, and his relationship with long-suffering Stan is part of that. Their arguments explicate their issues, and there’s no surmising on the part of the audience because it’s all on the surface.

The actors are appealing and the filmmaking is capable — Damian Harris is an experienced director and journeyman cinematographer Julio Macat shoots it all quite well and beautifully, with long Steadicam shots capturing the conversations and arguments with a certain dynamism. But the storytelling itself is rote. It’s an inspiring story of human connection, but why this story? Why now? What sets it apart? It never asserts itself as a particularly urgent tale.

The film is a loving tribute from a son to a father figure, but perhaps Deen is too close to the story to have much perspective on it. We’ve seen this story before and “Brave the Dark” doesn’t shed new light.

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‘BRAVE THE DARK’

2 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for domestic violence/bloody images, suicide, some strong language, teen drinking, drug material and smoking)

Running time: 1:50

How to watch: In theaters Jan. 24

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