Bad Education

Bad Education

Pushy parents basking in the reflected glory of driving their kids toward extreme excellence is not exactly a new phenomenon. Long before the college admissions scandal that brought down corporate executives and Hollywood stars alike, the pursuit of academic superiority real or imagined has inspired perfectly sensible people to go to insane lengths. The right neighborhood with the right schools, a packed schedule of the right kinds of activities and athletics it’s all to achieve the greater goal of sending their children to the right Ivy League university which will prepare them for the right lucrative career.

It seemed like top level administrators at Roslyn School District in New York understood this instinct and exploited it for personal gain. “Bad Education” tells about this real life embezzlement scheme that was exposed by high school newspaper in 2004. When you’re trying to project an air of success as fourth ranked district trying harder than ever to be number one, spending nearly $8 million on a skybridge doesn’t seem unreasonable. With so much money flowing around, skimming off a little here and there for bagels or jewelry or renovations on your Hamptons beach house is no big deal.

Director Cory Finley finds dark humor within this scandal which he depicts with style, wit and a terrific cast. Hugh Jackman gives one of his best performances as Superintendent Frank Tassone who hid many secrets behind his charm and polished image. Jackman uses his usual charisma very well but there’s something sinister lurking beneath the slickness that makes us uneasy from our first sight of him spritzing cologne into nostrils while trimming nose hairs in boys bathroom mirror at extremely close range.

Frank clearly cares deeply about students; we can still see flashes of what initially drew him into such difficult work when he remembers names & personal details about kids’ parents throughout district but fundamentally he wants everybody even those who dislike him to love him back so increasingly enjoys fame/power wealthier communities grant its leaders power over their citizens’ lives while becoming more visible as they do less charitable things like sponsoring lavish parties where only people invited are other wealthy elites living nearby though some might argue even these events aren’t enough because they don’t involve any poor minorities whatsoever except perhaps serving food made from organic ingredients grown locally within city limits during winter months when temperatures drop below freezing regularly causing frostbite if exposed too long without adequate protection against cold weather conditions often found elsewhere around world outside metropolitan areas populated largely by upper middle class whites.

Finley’s follow-up to “Thoroughbreds,” one of my favorite films of 2018, doesn’t seek to dazzle with sleek, showy camerawork like that film did. But it’s similarly interested in mining the depths of out darkest impulses, and doing so with sharp satire. (Mike Makowsky, who was a middle school student in Roslyn when the embezzlement scandal broke, wrote the script.)

“Bad Education” also calls to mind the great Alexander Payne film “Election,” with its students who are smarter and savvier than you’d expect and teachers who aren’t as mature and responsible as you’d hope. Finley actually could have used a bit more of Payne’s sharp bite in tackling this material. Geraldine Viswanathan radiates a quiet but increasingly assertive confidence as the high school reporter whose tough questions and thorough document searches reveal the district’s financial irregularities. Just as compelling as what she finds is her internal debate over how to handle that information. She knows what’s the right thing to do but what if that’s the wrong move for her future?

That’s the dilemma that also plagues the school board members led by a vividly haggard Ray Romano when they first learn of the administrators’ indiscretions. Going public would not only jeopardize the standing of the school district nationwide, it also would damage its reputation locally, which would make it harder for high-school seniors to gain acceptance at top universities, which would cause property values to plummet.

For a long time, Jackman keeps us guessing as to the amount of Frank’s knowledge and the depth of his involvement. Janney’s Pam Gluckin chats casually about flagrant misuse of her district credit card over the buzz of the blender as she mixes margaritas. (And the film’s costume and production design find just the right amount of Long Island tacky and flashy without diving over the top into parody.) Frank, on the other hand, contains myriad, fascinating multitudes.

As Jackman gets older, he seems less interested in getting us to like him and more inclined to play complicated characters who make questionable decisions. Wildly violent as his Wolverine may be in the “X-Men” universe particularly in the excellent, standalone “Logan” he’s still essentially a hero. “Bad Education” gives him.

Watch Bad Education For Free On Gomovies.