Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Bad Education 

This film is a incredibly shocking, well acted and gripping tale of greed and corruption. This  is by far one of the best acted films I’ve seen this year so far as High Jackman and Allison  Janney deliver some of the best performances of their entire career. Which is elevated by the incredible shocking story that is at the surface and it’s a true story I had no familiarity with before watching this film and wow what a cover up that happened and the film shows in great detail what went on to prevent this story from coming forward and the amount of people that were impacted and hurt due to the fallout of this despicable crime. 

Firstly, the performances in this film is outstanding! Across the board this film showcases all of its actors at the top of their game all contributing amazing work the entire cast is great Ray Romano gives a fantastic supporting turn in this film he’s not in the film for much but when he is onscreen he lights it up with great dramatic weight really bringing the scene to great life. Then theirs the two top heavyweights that truly blew me out of the water which is Allison Janney’s turn as Pam Gluckin who’s at person at first moment you see her you know she’s not exactly a straight arrow and Allison brings that subtle darkness into her performance and explodes like a firecracker on the screen with fantastic raw emotion that is one of her best performances ever. Then you have the person running the show Mr Hugh Jackman who I’ve said ever since I saw him in Prisoners that he should keep doing drama films as he is incredibly strong at showing his acting in that genre and here he excels amazingly once again giving a charged performance of great emotion that is so different then what I’ve seen him do before. As on the outside surface he’s this likeable person everyone loves and he treats everyone with the upmost respect but under the surface he has bubbling rage that explodes out of him only a handful of times and when it happens wow does Jackman command the scene with an iron fist of powerful emotion. Truly one of his best performances he’s ever given and all the performances from everyone involved in this film is fantastic and all bring their unique style to each of their characters to make them stand out and really leave a lasting impression on the audience. 

Secondly, The tone this  film goes for is a great one as it is a drama that also flirts with the elements of comedy at times but never strays to far into that arena. The film has two perspectives that it shows the audience we see the story from the eyes of the lead character of the story Frank Tassone and are times he can make everything seem so glamorous and that he seems like a perfect person because as the audience we are so captivated not just by the personality this man shows off to anyone he comes across but it’s also due to the genius of Jackman who grabs the audiences attention and really gets you to invest into his story and what he’s all about. At the same time the film is not one sided it does not to try glorify or glamorize what these people did as good things they were hugely immoral and cruel. The film also shows the story from this students perspective who’s finding out the hidden corruption going on with the school and does what she can to expose the truth and the way the film shows the over styled perspective in Frank’s eyes and then to the students perspective on things was really striking to me because it showed what they thought was at times passable and forgivable because of their nice personalities they showed to people but then we get hit with a hard slam of truth from the student that it’s unforgivable and the way the film shows those two tones and mixes them was perfectly done Because then it never felt one sided but showed the truth of what the story was and how it fell like dominos. 

Lastly, Bad Education is a truly captivating film  with powerful performances from its entire cast of actors especially from Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney who give some of the best work of their careers. It’s directed magnificently by Cory Finley who gives a terrific directed picture along with incredibly sharp writing from Mike Makowsky. Bad education is dramatic at times comedic and utterly shocking in its telling of the events this film is truly outstanding on every level I recommend everyone check this film out. 

This centres around the shocking true story of the loved superintendent at Roslyn High School and when a student is assigned to do a article on their school budgets she uncovers a massive secret of a embezzlement scheme that’s gone on for years that they try to cover up 

Rated R : language throughout 

Hugh Jackman : Jackman delivers a charismatic and top notch performance that is one of his best of his career! I’ve mentioned above how Hugh Excels in the genre of drama here he gives a performance very different to what I’ve seen him do before. He has amazed me by showing incredible different sides to him In past works like Logan and Prisoners. This  is different in the sense that he plays Frank Tassone in this very overly charismatic presence to the point where he’s overly kind and very cheery and it seems at glance this man doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Then over the course of the film we find out with incredible emotional range by Jackman that he is very charming and charismatic for sure but he has this bubbling rage and deep rooted anxiety that is beneath that smile that goes across his face. He is able to channel such a emotional switch so effortlessly onscreen as he can be like I said charismatic and then in the most subtle of ways be very emotionally intimidating with just a look and seeing the pure blackness in his eyes that haunt you and creep you out. Theirs only I think three times he has an anger outburst and when he does it isn’t like some three second outburst but he will go on a emotional rant and his words will be traveling so fast as you see that what he thinks his true thoughts he dose not express but when he’s in a anger state of mind he lets his raw honest thoughts out and Jackman shows that raw honesty in spades. Hugh brings this softness to the role  that he wears as a mask to hide his true feelings about what he real thoughts are about the situation happening around him and its a brilliant piece of screen acting as he seems so likeable and charming and then can throw you for a one eighty and totally switch the tone of what you perceive him as on you and it’s a credit to Jackman. As he is such a unlikeable character but that’s the charm of him he draws you into investing into his personality of this character and then makes you question why you even found him charming at all as he does a ton of questionable things and Jackman brings a complexity to the role that shows some of his strongest acting he’s ever delivered onscreen. Hugh Jackman still finds a way to deliver sides to him we had not seen and he shines in every frame of this film with a emotional intensity that you can’t look away from Jackman delivers a performance of this charming shady despicable person in such a captivating and emotionally honest way that is truly one of his best performances he’s brought to the screen. 

Allison Janney : Janney delivers another devilish supporting turn that is electric! Allison Janney delivered a sinister performance back in 2017 that earned her an Academy Award for her work in I, Tonya and now she brings another sinister person to light but this time in a whole different approach. She plays the right hand person to Frank and she really has fun with this role as you can tell she’s having a fun time soaking up every moment of this person as she brings a specific kind of energy to this performance. She dabbles in a a ton of illegal and shady things and the way that Allison conveys her subtle emotions is perfect. She brings this emotional complexity to her where you don’t really know what’s going on in her head and Allison is able to show that perfectly as in the film she definitely delivers a supporting turn as she isn’t in a good bit of the film she’s in the first two half’s then isn’t in as present in it as much but when she is onscreen she is a force to be reckoned with as. She brings this raw honesty to the character but has a lot of secrets and eventually that destroys her and you see her being quite cocky and Allison brings a small amount of humour to those moments but when she does loose it all and her character takes quite the turn. You can see the absolute vulnerability she hid under that tough persona she gave off and becomes quite desperate and you can see the utter sadness and heartbreak in her eyes and her voice and it’s incredibly brought to the screen by Janney. She’s played characters with great depth before but here she dabbles into so many aspects of this person we get to see so many layers of emotion she drives forward and it’s astonishing to witness unfold onscreen. She can explode in rage with tears coming from her eyes and then she can be the most cockiest person in the room the amount of range Allison brings to this role is brilliant. She once again delivers another incredible performance that truly is one of her best. 

Cory Finley : Cory gives his best directed film yet! Cory came onto the filmmaking scene not that long ago as I watched his first feature. Which was Thoroughbreds which I really enjoyed and now to see him make this I’m really excited to see what he does next. If Thoroughbreds covered the themes of friendship and madness then this film tackles themes of corruption, greed and doing the right thing. He  doesn’t sugar coat the way he tackles the topics at hand as when it gets ugly he has no problem showing it for what it was and how it went down and staying as true to facts as possible. As well the film for the most part is contained to the school and a lot of the scenes are in the offices and he is able to structure the story around that environment in such a smart way to be able to create fantastic tension and great moments of sheer brilliant acting from his actors. He uses the limited environments to his Benefit and does a tremendous job at not trying to cover to many years he keeps on course on showing this one point in time when it was going down and I love that. He doesn’t need to flashback or show many years go by it’s all happening within a few year period and I love that approach to it as then it felt like he wasn’t trying to bite off more then he can chew. As well the dialogue suited the characters and the tone perfectly all of the words spoken suited each personality perfectly it never felt flashy or over quippy it was perfectly done to suit each personality. As well he was able to set the tone of the film greatly as I said earlier this is a drama all the way through but it does use sprinkles of comedy that worked brilliantly as he doesn’t veer off into that direction but merely uses a bit of it to take the tension off some of these scenes not because it’s trying to be funny but to act as a break for the audience as the scenes are very heavy and the comedy never felt misplaced or awkward. It timed it perfectly and knew exactly when to do it which I loved the perfect amount and not to much. He got great performances from his actors all giving great work and overall he was able to tell this fact based story in a gripping way that never was boring or to long he told the events for how it happened really brings the audience into the film by its interesting premise and characters and then takes you on a wild ride and it worked marvellously. Overall this is in my opinion the best film Cory has directed yet and I can’t wait to see what he does next overall incredible direction by Cory.