Cory Finley's second feature film effort, Bad Education, sees Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney team up to the tell the fascinating true story of the largest theft in the American school system. Debuting on HBO after playing at London Film Festival last year, and written by one of high school's own alum, does Finley's manage to avoid the pitfalls of a sophomore slump following the director's terrific Thoroughbreds?
Rosyln High School has gone from strength to strength, climbing the districts ranking under the leadership of the charismatic superintendent Frank Tassone. But when things stop adding up, and a students' stumbles into evidence which could throw the whole district into disrepute, a scandal quickly unravels that would go on to uncover the largest theft the American school system has ever seen. Co-starring Geraldine Viswanathan, Ray Romano and Alex Wolff, Bad Education uses a small-town event as a clever vessel to parallel bigger and wider contemporary issues embedded in society today in this smart, razor-sharp satire.
Bad Education's incredibly astute cautionary tale of corruption and authority is as thoroughly entertaining as it is bleakly recognisable. Written by Mike Makowsky, whose writing is teaming with moral ambiguity, caustic wit and genuine surprise, the damning yet bitingly funny script prods at journalistic integrity, the desperation to hide a secret and silence equating complicity, all enriching the entertaining experience with these deeper ideas. It faces some difficult wrapping itself up, and overruns by about 10-15 minutes, but is, until this point, an otherwise brilliantly-paced piece.
Director Cory Finley is an inspired choice for director, bringing the same deadpan style found in his Thoroughbreds work to similarly great effect. Alongside cinematographer Lyle Vincent, whose camera moves precisely, they figuratively and literally line everything up in its cross-hares, so there's no mistaking the target by its conclusion. Finley's extraordinary ability to balance the screenplay's tone, tinged with a melancholy sadness as the contemporary resonance becomes clear, means he elicits great control over the story while never suffocating it of its surprises. Armed with Michael Abels score and a terrific soundtrack, there is some really sophisticated, impressive work on display in Bad Eduation.
Bad Education's incredibly astute cautionary tale of corruption and authority is as thoroughly entertaining as it is bleakly recognisable. Written by Mike Makowsky, whose writing is teaming with moral ambiguity, caustic wit and genuine surprise, the damning yet bitingly funny script prods at journalistic integrity, the desperation to hide a secret and silence equating complicity, all enriching the entertaining experience with these deeper ideas. It faces some difficult wrapping itself up, and overruns by about 10-15 minutes, but is, until this point, an otherwise brilliantly-paced piece.
Director Cory Finley is an inspired choice for director, bringing the same deadpan style found in his Thoroughbreds work to similarly great effect. Alongside cinematographer Lyle Vincent, whose camera moves precisely, they figuratively and literally line everything up in its cross-hares, so there's no mistaking the target by its conclusion. Finley's extraordinary ability to balance the screenplay's tone, tinged with a melancholy sadness as the contemporary resonance becomes clear, means he elicits great control over the story while never suffocating it of its surprises. Armed with Michael Abels score and a terrific soundtrack, there is some really sophisticated, impressive work on display in Bad Eduation.
Jackman delivers a career-best performance as Frank Tassone: a perfect piece of casting that exploits his natural charisma while hiding something far more deceitful underneath. Carefully calibrating this tricky character that could have fallen incredibly flat in less skilled hands, Jackman offers an insightful and layered depiction with a surprisingly human side considered that really elevates the film. A fabulously snarky Allison Janney likewise registers some career-best work, utterly hilarious while convincingly selling the darker and more dramatic elements of the plot and character with ease. Matched tremendously, the duo cultivates a chemistry that cements the pair as one of the most surprising and dynamic combinations of the year: award consideration for ether would be fully earned and certainly deserved.
Pay attention to the darkly funny, sadly relevant and morally blurred Bad Education, which proves Cory Finley to be one of the most exciting new directors in the industry. Guiding this fascinating true story through its delicious twists and turns with a keen eye for the relevant and recognisable, Makowsky's sharp screenplay, and the fantastic combination of Jackman and Janney, make for such a compelling piece of filmmaking, which Finley spearheads with refreshing confidence for a director turning in only his second film. It's a winning grade from me.
Summary: Bad Education passes with flying colour, a darkly funny, sadly relevant and morally blurred true story which boasts some of Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney's career-best work to date.
Summary: Bad Education passes with flying colour, a darkly funny, sadly relevant and morally blurred true story which boasts some of Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney's career-best work to date.