Bad Education | Film Review

Hey Guys x

This film came out in the UK last Saturday, on the Sky Premiere channels. I had heard about it quite a while ago, mainly because I'm a huge fan of Hugh Jackman, so it was on my 'to watch' list for a while.

Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is a school superintendent who is practically worshipped by students, staff and parents alike. But when a student (Geraldine Viswanathan) uncovers an embezzlement scandal, no one has any idea how high up the truth goes.

I really really enjoyed this film. It actually took me by surprise, I definitely didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

For a start, the film has really good character development, mainly for the character of Tassone. And the reason that it achieves this so well is because it makes sure to emphasise that Tassone is a 'good man'. It shows us the good things he does, doesn't paint him as a villain, and puts him up on a pedestal that makes his fall truly shocking.

In addition to this, Tassone is an extremely complex, interesting character, which could be due to the writing, or just due to the fact that this is a true story about a real person. And the same could be said for the vast majority of characters that make up the film - particularly Pam Gluckin, played by Allison Janney.

I think it was a really good move on the writer's part to focus a chunk of this movie on the student Journalist, Rachel Bhargava. By doing this, the audience can clearly see all sides of this scandal, we get to know all of the characters, and we get to watch as this story is dripped out little by little, rather than everything exploding in one go. 

Speaking of which, the scandal is drip-fed to the audience in a really clever, interesting way.

One of the reasons that I thought I wouldn't connect with this film is because, to me at least, embezzlement is one of the least interesting crimes to watch a film about. But this particular story was so interesting in and of itself. You don't really have to have any prior knowledge of the story, or of the crime of embezzlement, to become invested.

As I've already mentioned, Tassone's negative character development really makes the film stand out. It's done in such a way that you never really see him as just a good man, or just a villain. He is always grey, he is always a three dimensional character, and I feel like Hugh Jackman was the perfect person to play this role. He brought to life a character that, on paper, could easily have been a two dimensional villain because of the crime he committed. 

One thing that really surprised me about the film, which I only noticed when I came to write this review, was that the film never asks or answers why Tassone commits this crime, and I find this extremely interesting because you would think that this would be what the film is about, but it isn't. It's not about whether we as the audience are going to absolve this man of his crime, or whether the film can make this man a victim by giving us an explanation.

The one thing I haven't mentioned yet, but that also really stood out to me, was the score. It feels like the score of a huge Oscar-bait drama, and at times actually feels too dramatic to fit. But, not only does it enhance the drama of the movie, but it allows us to understand that this is these are the most dramatic moments of the character's lives, and the score accomplishes this really well.

Overall, this is definitely a movie that everyone should watch. It tells an interesting story that you probably haven't heard about in much detail, and you'll be thinking about it well after the credits roll.

8/10

Lou