BAD EDUCATION : Official Reviews ( SPOILERS)

[jo]

www.flickfilosopher.com/2020/04/bad-education-movie-review-school-for-scandal-hbo.html


Sometimes, it is crazy when a critic questions the motivations of an actor in accepting a role. This is also from UK Media and suggests similar motives to Hugh ( similar to that Guardian review). What has it got to do with the artistic merits of a film?

[jo]

A well-thought out and well-written review, right after Toronto ( Sept 2019).

From one of the better film blog sites --

www.heyuguys.com/bad-education-review/

Home Reviews Bad Education...

Bad Education Review – TIFF 2019
By Adam Solomons -
Sep 11, 2019


If the films on this year’s broadly impressive Toronto line-up have had anything in common, it’s that they’re much better than they needed to be. Bad Education, the Thoroughbreds follow-up from young director Cory Finley, centred around one of America’s most costly school frauds, is the best example of that yet. Long Island public schools might not be conventional territory for talented sophomore directors, but Bad Education just so happens to be one of the best films of the year.
A more conventional choice for a Mike Nichols picture, or perhaps a directorial choice for Aaron Sorkin, Finley was an avant-garde choice to take on this Mike Makowsky script, and that’s apparent quite quickly. A career-best performance from Hugh Jackman, who dazzles as the protagonist and antagonist Dr Frank Tassone, alongside a highly coherent script and memorable performances from a stellar supporting cast mean Bad Education is one of the defining American films of 2019 and a new dark horse for major awards success.

Makowsky himself was around the suburban New York City school operation of the era he’s writing about (even meeting Tassone as a young student) and that also shows. He approaches the story with immense authenticity, a feature that Finley evidently pounces on in how he tells the remarkable story of America’s fraudster bureaucrats of the early 2000s. Alison Janney is striking as the business manager and partner in crime Pam Gluckin, once again consuming the role to the extent that you’d think it was written with her in mind.


Finley’s greatest success with Bad Education, aside from bringing a genuinely unorthodox visual style to a script that could be fumbled into something mediocre – think Jackman’s The Front Runner from last year at Tiff – is his fixation with telling a story of a time in history. The soundtrack is perfectly chosen, the setting in social history (without giving too much away) poignant and relevant without being overdone, and a culture of trust in authority led by indifference a well-transmitted one. One supporting character says of the crimes committed by those in power, “When things are going well, you don’t ask questions.” That’s a concept we might think somewhat foreign today, but one that – thanks to shrewd writing in particular – seemingly makes perfect sense in the context of a not-so-long-ago-but-now-scarcely-recognisable world.

Meanwhile, Jackman is unnervingly good as Tassone, a shoo-in for a career-best performance from the actor. He brings deception and sociopathy so compellingly to a character that seems to change in morality every 5 minutes – until we realise he’s been the same person all along. The notion of a stifled bureaucrat sick and tired of public service, now demanding a reward for years of underappreciated loyalty, is common in recent cinema but perhaps still under-utilised considering the world we live in today. As the polite ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal declares in Crimes & Misdemeanors (1989), “What good is the law if it doesn’t do me justice?”

[jo]

From Texas --

www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/bad-education-is-a-hugh-jackman-showcase/article_48c97c44-fde0-57c1-b4d3-8bec10bb18f6.html

editor's pick spotlight

'Bad Education' is a Hugh Jackman showcase

Matthew Jackson Item Film Critic 5 hrs ago

Courtesy PhotoHugh Jackman and Allison Janney star in 'Bad Education.'


I think we’ve always kind of collectively underestimated Hugh Jackman, not as a performer but as a stripped down, fundamental actor. Perhaps it’s because he got his breakthrough in superhero movies and kept playing in that sandbox for almost two decades, or perhaps it’s his love of musicals and showmanship.

For whatever reason, even though we’re often impressed by Jackman as an entertainer, I don’t think we give him enough credit for being a very good actor, scene-by-scene and line-by-line.

Then he goes and does something like “Bad Education,” to remind us all that he is owed some appreciation.



Jackman stars in the film – based on a true story of a scandal at a Long Island school district in the 2000s – as Frank Tassone, who at first glance appears to be an ordinary guy who’s defined by the dedication he brings to his job. As superintendent of the fast-rising Roslyn school district, Tassone has presided over better test scores, prestigious college admissions, and the corresponding acceleration in property values in the area. He’s beloved, respected, and devoted to his job. And then one day his job, and his relationship with his right hand woman Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) are shaken to the core by a scandal. Suddenly, Frank has to contend with a meddling student reporter (Geraldine Viswanathan), an irate school official (Ray Romano), and a community that grows increasingly suspicious, even as Frank has secrets of his own that have nothing to do with the school.


While it’s based on a true story, and therefore the facts of the case are easy to look up, director Cory Finley and writer Mike Makowsky (who was actually a student at the school district during the scandal) don’t lean on that to create the conventional build of a ripped from the headlines drama. Instead, they offer something more compelling: A kind of mirrored structure to the story that allows us to see who Frank really is only slowly, through revelations that are often small and puzzling at first until they’re slotted into the bigger picture. The first shot and the last shot of “Bad Education” are compelling reflections of one another, creating a beautifully engineered, often wickedly funny, arc for the cast to sink their teeth into.


Jackman, as he so often is since his rise to stardom, is at the center of all this, which means it’s up to him to play the slow shifts in our perception of Frank while never really changing who the guy is at his core. He has to be the same man in the last scene as he is in the first, even though the film has spent the past two hours radically shifting the way we see him. That takes a certain attention to detail that some actors just can’t muster, but Jackman rises to the occasion with precision, emotional power, and sheer charisma. He is utterly believable in this role, both physically and psychologically, and it might just be the best performance of his career. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s surrounded by top-tier talent, including Janney (arguably the best actress of her generation) and Romano (who’s quickly becoming an elite dramatic actor in his own right).


“Bad Education” is an expertly constructed, darkly comic look at American greed, vanity, and selfishness in all its often ridiculous forms. It’s an intimate story that nevertheless manages to reflect the world around all of us, and its magnificent leading actor serves to remind us that, even if you didn’t know it before, he really is just that good.
—
‘Bad Education’ is now streaming on HBO Now.

[jo]

Justin Chang's review for LA Times --

www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-04-23/bad-education-hbo-review-hugh-jackman

Movies
Review: Hugh Jackman is at his best in the engrossing school-scam drama ‘Bad Education’

Hugh Jackman and Geraldine Viswanathan in the movie “Bad Education.”(HBO)


By Justin ChangFilm Critic
April 23, 202011:40 AM


Adamantium claws may have made Hugh Jackman famous, but his real secret weapon has always been that seductive mega-watt grin. It’s the smile of a seducer, a razzle-dazzler, a man born to play top-hatted magicians and carnival barkers in 19th-century spectaculars like “The Prestige” and “The Greatest Showman” — not that his characters and their dubious motives are in any way restricted by period.

In the appallingly funny HBO drama “Bad Education,” premiering Saturday, Jackman’s two-faced charm translates to upscale American suburbia with velvety smoothness. This devil doesn’t wear Prada; he sports a phony wedding ring and a closet full of perfectly pressed suits.


His name is Dr. Frank Tassone, and as the beloved superintendent of Long Island’s Roslyn Heights school district, he’s one of the shiniest pillars of a community defined by wealth and ambition. Early on, director Cory Finley throws in a quick montage of McMansions flying past Frank’s car window, as if to emphasize how closely tied they are to his legacy.
Under the slick leadership of Frank and his close deputy, Pamela Gluckin (a lethally good Allison Janney), the school district has become one of the highest ranked in the nation. Roslyn High graduates are flooding Ivy League schools; property values are soaring. A plan to construct a very expensive skywalk campus is under way.


If it all sounds too good to be true, it is. Something similar might be said about the highly image-conscious Frank, whose every decision — the strict low-carb diet he can’t help mentioning around the office, the determination in his stride as he marches across campus every morning — teems with the same aggressive, go-get-’em spirit. But the more Frank broadcasts his all-around awesomeness, the more you wonder what he’s hiding: Just try ignoring the framed photo of a beautiful bride, presumably his late wife, displayed a little too conspicuously in his office.

If strenuous image management were a crime, of course, a lot of us would be in the clink. But Mike Makowsky’s sharp, layered script treats Frank’s vain dissembling as a psychological clue, hinting at far more serious and costly misdeeds. You may already know something about the staggering real-life embezzlement scandal that inspired “Bad Education”; if you don’t, you may as well save the outraged Googling until after you’ve watched it. Suffice to say that, like most good scam movies, this one offers queasy pleasures that aren’t difficult to parse: It’s always fun to watch a grifter’s elaborately constructed house of cards come crashing down.


Allison Janney in the movie “Bad Education.”(HBO)


But there’s another kind of pleasure at work here, and in some ways it’s even more irresistible: the thrill of allowing seasoned liars to lure you into a privileged intimacy. “Bad Education” reminds us how synonymous great acting and great lying can be. Jackman and Janney, both giving their richest performances in some time, manage to pull the wool over your eyes with one hand even as they teasingly pull back the curtain with the other. As two hard-working leaders and inveterate schemers who know the system inside out, they lure you into a delectable gray zone somewhere between the conned and the complicit.


One of the picture’s slyest suggestions is that what makes these characters so cunning — their eye for human weakness, for the little details that (almost) anyone else would miss — is also what makes them very, very good at their jobs. Janney locates unexpected flashes of wit and tenderness beneath her character’s acerbic veneer; she makes clear that Pam’s real talent isn’t intimidating people but putting them at ease.


And Jackman, warmly affectionate one minute and coolly reptilian the next, makes Frank an even more complicated antihero: He’s a repressed, narcissistic phony and a brilliant educator, with an entirely genuine interest in sharpening young minds. When a student journalist, Rachel (the terrific Geraldine Viswanathan), interviews him about the skywalk project, he encourages her to take the assignment deeper: “It’s only a puff piece if you let it be a puff piece.”

He will regret his words. Rachel — a composite of several intrepid young muckrakers at the Hilltop Beacon, Roslyn High’s student newspaper — turns out to be one hell of a reporter, and it isn’t long before she uncovers some curious discrepancies in the district’s financial records. But if “Bad Education” is about the triumph of intelligence and tenacity (and a welcome reminder of the importance of a fully empowered independent press), it’s also about how bumbling stupidity and sheer rotten luck can unravel any conspiracy.


In his arresting debut feature, “Thoroughbreds,” Finley employed the perspective of two chillingly nihilistic teenage girls to lay bare the emptiness of upper-class American suburbia — hardly the freshest of targets, though the movie had visual poise and art-horror style to burn. Apart from a few formal flourishes — some pointedly symmetrical frames in Lyle Vincent’s photography, the Yorgos Lanthimos-style dissonances in Michael Abels’ score — “Bad Education” is a more straightforward movie and, ultimately, a more satisfying one. Finley is still eviscerating upper-middle-class mores, but this time he closes the distance between us and his characters; his distaste for them is held in check by his curiosity.
His conclusion seems to be that while Frank and Pam may be exceptionally dishonest, irresponsible people, their base condition is a universal one. The things they want out of life — beautiful homes, luxury vacations, successful careers, contented loved ones — are banal, even commonplace. They have a lot of friends, colleagues and family members relying on them, and the movie, without courting either your derision or your sympathy, suggests that the most desperate con artists are motivated by a need for love and belonging as well as basic greed. (The terrific supporting cast includes Ray Romano, Annaleigh Ashford, Rafael Casal, Jeremy Shamos and Stephen Spinella.)

Early on, well before all hell breaks loose, there’s a seemingly throwaway moment that encapsulates nearly everything this movie is about: the insatiability of the human appetite and the pleasure of breaking the rules. Frank and Pam are having lunch on the bleachers at Roslyn High, and Pam, seeing Frank miserable over his diet, waves a pastrami on rye in his face. “You bitch,” Frank marvels, and you can hear the affection and the guilt in his voice. Pam shoves the sandwich at him with a reassuring, conspiratorial smile: “I’m not gonna tell anyone,” she coos. Of course he takes a bite. It’s delicious.

‘Bad Education’
Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Playing: Premieres 8 p.m. Saturday, HBO; also streaming and on demand

That is a review! The more I read incisive reviews like this and note how impressed top critics are with Hugh Jackman's portrayal, the more I feel bad that the movie would not be qualified to be part of the Oscar conversation. How often does anyone read reviews like this from very authoritative film critics and not expect the artistic effort to be recognized come Oscar time! The critics are gushing!

Chang also used to be film critic for VARIETY.


Jo

[jo]

theusefulreviews.blogspot.com/2020/05/bad-education-2020-has-just-been-put-in.html

TheUsefulReviews

"Bad Education": 2020 Has Just Been Put In Another Gear

on May 03, 2020

"Bad Education": Movie Review

With blazing speed and an eye for the absolute truth, "Bad Education" nails every bit of its true to life story. A steady stream of intelligent insight into the corruption of the public school systems, along with Hugh Jackman's Oscar-worthy performance and brilliant execution by director Cory Finley, sets this dramedy at the upper echelon of films in 2020.

A popular superintendent, Frank Tassone (Jackman), entangles himself in one of the most notorious public school scandals in modern history.

Finley's artistic development, including Michael Abels ("Get Out", "Us") swell of classical music, is utilized with an unadulterated dread. Catching the utter essence of Tassone seems like an impossible task, but a career-best performance by Jackman defies the limits of what actors can achieve.

To pass "Bad Education" up as a passable comedy is an insult. Enthralling, captivating, and completely off the wall, it's a film not to be messed with. 2020 has just been put in another gear.

3 1/2 Stars Out Of 4

"Bad Education" HBO Hugh Jackman

[jo]

Another good review- appreciating the premise and the execution of the movie! All the nuances, written by a film school graduate, but it seems with a bit of an LGBT orientation.


thequeerreview.com/2020/05/04/film-review-bad-education-hbo/

Natural Election – Film Review: Bad Education ★★★★

A classic satire comes along every so often to remind me, more than other film genres, that great art can come with a sucker punch to the frontal lobes. Movies such as Network, Nightcrawler, Heathers, and The Lobster remind us that when humans go bad, it’s tragic yet devastatingly entertaining. In 1999, Alexander Payne brought us Election, which on the surface offered us a High School Student Council race, but really showed us how the war between ruthless ambition and morality could destroy the very fabric of society. I consider it a masterpiece and have hungered for more films like it ever since. I’ve waited and waited. Yes, Jojo Rabbit wowed me, but a great satire grounded in the mundane reality of a high school setting has proven elusive. The genre often spells box office poison in this cut and dry storytelling era in which we often find ourselves. Finally, Cory Finley, who brought us the impressive, tonally distinct Thoroughbreds in 2017, has followed it up with Bad Education. It oozes Election’s DNA and announce itself as one of the best films of 2020 along with a career-best performance by Hugh Jackman.


He stars as Frank Tassone, a real life Long Island High School Superintendent, who in 2002 when we first meet him, has brought Rosyln High School into the number 4 position in the country. Everybody loves Frank. He remembers everyone’s names, takes part in an otherwise women’s only book club, pays attention to his students, and eases complaining parents’ worries by allowing their children to take tests again. This, coupled with the fact that so many students get into Ivy League schools and that property values have gone sky high because of his school’s desirability, and no wonder Frank gets a virtual standing ovation wherever he goes. His loyal partner-in-crime, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) acts as his business administrator, and presides over the development of a multi-million dollar Skybridge for the school, which will add to the prestige. Frank and Pam work hard, banter effortlessly, and have the world at their fingertips. Pay close attention, however, and you’ll notice little cracks here and there. It’s called Bad Education for a reason. Things go real bad.


Screenwriter Mike Makowsky, who attended Rosyln High around the time of the film’s events, impressively peels back the onion layers of the story. He beautifully mines suspense out of each little reveal and twist, giving the film a fantastic forward momentum. I knew nothing about the story going in, and won’t spoil any details here, but I haven’t felt this confident in a storyteller’s abilities since Vince Gilligan blazed a trail with Breaking Bad.

Additionally, he has written for a large cast of characters, all of whom have distinctive voices and a chance to pop. While Jackman and Janney do stellar work, (more on them later), Geradline Viswanathan (a hilarious standout from Blockers) beautifully switches gears by giving a smart, tamped down performance as a student journalist with a great B.S. Detector. She answers to Alex Wolff’s Nick, the newspaper editor who only cares about getting into a great college. Wolff, who shined in Hereditary, also surprised me with his ability to inhabit his soul-deprived character. Tony Winner Annaleigh Ashford broke my heart as Gluckin’s naïve niece and co-worker, a person who thinks her tiny issues have caused so much trouble while neglecting to see the big picture problems right in front of her. Ray Romano knocks it out of the park as the head of the school board, a man who has had his own financial success but can’t or won’t acknowledge the nefarious schemes because his school has excelled so much. Rafael Casal plays a former student of Frank’s who didn’t quite live up to his potential. If you think you know Casal from his street-smart writing and acting in Blindspotting, think again. Here’s an actor with true range, making himself nearly unrecognizable by changing his voice and demeanor to effortlessly slip into the skin of this sensitive gay bartender/dancer. Jeremy Shamos stands out as the put upon accountant who Frank plays like a fiddle to keep him from figuring out what’s really happening. I wish Allison Janney had more to do in the second half of the film, but she galvanizes the first half with her fearless characterization of a woman who knows how to bulldoze a conversation to her liking. The accents may be broad, but she, like the rest of the cast, find the specifics of their humanity.


The film, of course, belongs to Jackman as Frank Tassone. With slicked-back hair and sharp suits, he commands any room he enters. Sure he’s relatable lamenting the perpetual charcoal smoothies he drinks for his diet and smooth as he expertly bats off adoring single parents, but there’s also something tightly wound and off about him. His early conversations with Pam feel like romantic comedy banter but the details fly by so fast you’re not really sure what they’re talking about. Stick with it, because Makowsky and Finley know exactly what they’re doing to rope you in and make you hold on tight. As it progresses we see more and more of the real Frank emerging. We experience a touching scene in which Frank awkwardly lets down his guard to share a dance with someone. Moments later, we meet the real Frank and it’s the most naked and raw Jackman has ever been. Another late scene gives Frank the opportunity to bare his true feelings and intentions on an unsuspecting parent, giving us a glimpse into Frank’s motivations, truly ugly but also understandable. It’s clear that Frank has had to perform for people his entire life, as he expertly navigates his image. It’s a wonderfully modulated, scary, yet humane performance. We may not like what Frank does, but it’s easy to put yourself in the shoes of an underpaid, overworked servant to the community.

Finlay and his cinematographer Lyle Vincent keep the film grounded with a realistic, fluorescent, dull sheen. The events may be extraordinary, but they, like Alexander Payne, know how to find life in the ordinary. Composer Michael Abels, who wrote the brilliant scores for Get Out and Us, brings a sense of grandeur to his symphonic cues and the right type of melancholy to the piano pieces. It adds up to a score which supports the dichotomy of Frank’s public persona versus the really troubled man underneath.

Janney’s first line says so much about the themes of this film, “A wise woman once said, it’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you got”. We all want nice things in life whether it be a nice place, a comfortable car, exotic travels, a healthy and happy family, to name a few. Sometimes we may ask ourselves what we would compromise in order to have our riches. Are we entitled to them? Do they make us happy? Bad Education, a perfect microcosm of our world today, seems to be saying that it doesn’t matter. Maybe wanting is everything.

Glenn Gaylord’s 50 SHADES OF GAY SCALE: Bad Education gets a 50 out of 50. It’s ultimately a queer story about the lengths someone will go to in order to compartmentalize their life. The real Tassone has objected to the inclusion of gay subject matter in the film, dismissing it as superfluous. It’s anything but, and I think he’s simply playing another long con.

By Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic


Published by Glenn Gaylord
Senior Film Critic for The Queer Review, filmmaker, film inhaler, Glenn graduated from UCLA Film School and has written and/or directed such films as I DO, LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR, EATING OUT: ALL YOU CAN EAT, IF WE TOOK A HOLIDAY, CAMP MICHAEL JACKSON, BOYCHICK, LOST CAUSE and LITTLE BFFs. His favorite movie of all time is PAPER MOON, but every time the lights go down in a theater, he's hoping the next one will knock it off its pedestal. Here's to hoping. He lives in Los Angeles with his beloved Aussie dog, Sydney, who keeps him sane from those long days of dealing with narcissists and sociopaths.
View all posts by Glenn Gaylord

[jo]

robscene.com/film-review-bad-education-7-5-10/

RobScene

May 4, 2020 by RobScene
Film Review: Bad Education – 7.5/10
‘You might forget, but we don’t. We never forget. Ever…’

Happily, Bad Education is not a documentary about all the kids that I have taught, but rather HBO’s latest cinematic release. Misappropriation of public funds is not a crime that screams feature length movie, but the story of the Roslyn school board in New York, and their fast and loose definition of drawing a wage, is pretty spectacular.
Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is the golden boy of education in Roslyn. Everybody loves him. But under the flashy suits and the practiced smile lies a web of deceit.

Bad Education is not a film about bad people or even good people. It lies in that grey area between the two. Tassone is not the second coming but neither is he the antichrist. He was just a man doing a very difficult job that made a mistake. The problem was he kept making that mistake over and over again, and the people around him facilitated those mistakes with their own lust for wealth. The crumbling classrooms in Roslyn stand as proof that there is no such thing as a victimless crime, but it is hard not to feel sorry for Tassone and his people. It is easy to imagine how one might get swept up in such a self-congratulatory culture.

Hugh Jackman is a bit of a coup for a TV movie, even for HBO, and he is a class act here. Tassone’s fall from grace is subtle and incremental, but Jackman still imbues his performance with nuance and grace, even managing to present Tassone – a convicted criminal – as a sympathetic character. The supporting cast are fine too, although Geraldine Viswanathan, and by her extension, her character Rachel Bhargave – the school reporter who broke the story – is never given the screen time she deserves. To offset that, we do get plenty of Ray Romano though and that’s nice. Everyone loves him after all.

Despite Jackman’s all star performance, Bad Education is no masterpiece, but it is an interesting story told well, and director Cory Finley does a great job in keeping the action moving. It would have been easy to get bogged down in procedure and details, but Finley wisely focuses on character instead. The result is a portrait of arrogance and hubris that is impossible to resist. For any fellow educators out there, Bad Education is worth watching for Jackman’s impassioned speech about teaching alone. For everyone else, you’ve always got Ray Romano.

It is grating everytime BAD EDUCATION is condescendingly referred to as a TV Movie! It was never intended for the small screen and arrayed with all the other movies commissioned for TV ( usually storytelling more for amusement or pure entertainment value) -- this movie is a social satire - looking at human behavior within the context of what is acceptable behavior, but sometimes obscured deliberately by the players's looking out after their own personal interests.

I hope Hugh does not ever work with those producers/financiers ever again... or at least be bound by a contract that requires a theatrical screening. It is different if he had been offered to do film work for TV, but this was never the case for BAD EDUCATION! I think Endeavor and Patrick Whitesell should also learn a lesson from this project.

Jo

[jo]

gritdaily.com/bad-education/

Hugh Jackman is the Perfect Villain
Posted by Jack Giroux | Apr 27, 2020



We all love Hugh Jackman. Everyone and their grandma can’t help but to fall for the Jackman charm. He exudes goodness in a town defined largely by bad behavior. He’s one of the good guys, which is why he’s the perfect man to play one of the bad guys. In the new HBO film, Bad Education, Jackman uses his public persona as the ultimate weapon.


What is Bad Education?

Jackman is a silent but deadly threat as Frank Tassone, a Long Island school superintendent with a broad smile hiding sinister motives. Based on a true story, Tassone stole millions from taxpayers and the school system. How’d he get away with it? Mostly, with charm. Directed by Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds), Bad Education is a chilling tale about a sociopath. It’s American Psycho in the suburbs.


Everybody Loves Frank

Everybody loves Frank. Nobody could ever fathom the man in the nice suits, with a pleasant smile, and the “dream big” attitude could do such a horrible thing. He uses charm to hide his true self. For the first act of Bad Education, Jackman makes the audience feel like his co-workers and students: you’re won over by his charisma. He makes people feel good about themselves and believe in themselves, strategically. Even when the cracks in his mask first appear, you still want to see the good in this very charming, seemingly caring man. Slowly, the story chillingly reveals his true nature and, like his friends and co-workers, you feel betrayed for giving him the benefit of the doubt.


Who is Frank?

It’s an incredible, career-defining performance from Jackman. He raises so many questions and creates such a sense of mystery around Frank for a large portion of Bad Education. There are moments where we see goodness in Frank, but is it always manufactured? Is there anything inside this greedy, sociopathic man that is real? No, but most of Bad Education, you still want to see that side of the character come alive. It’s never going to, but you desperately want it to.


The World’s Greatest Showman

Frank is a huckster, which is why the man who played the world’s greatest showman was the perfect actor for the part. Jackman is, above all else, a showman, just like Frank. It’s a perfect marriage between role and performer. Charisma is Jackman’s bread and butter, again, just like Frank. Everything that’s pure about the performer and public persona gets twisted to stunning results in Bad Education.


Jackman’s History of Darkness

Jackman is far more than his nice guy persona, though. It’s hardly the only brand of character he’s played. In the past, whenever Jackman goes to the darkside, that’s when we see him at his most magnetic. Arguably, that’s even true for his portrayal of Wolverine, but in The Prestige, Prisoners, and a movie directed by a disgraced director I won’t name, the actor exudes a distinct intensity entirely of his own.


Jackman is a big guy, so if he wants to intimidate someone, whether a co-worker or even a student in this case, it’s frightening. But it’s that charm, that likability, that charisma that makes him so much more than a standard villain, not his size. There’s something about that classic and, more importantly, genuine movie star smile that makes a villain all the more frightening. Jackman is one of the good guys, but after Bad Education, he’s now one of our favorite bad guys.

[jo]

depauliaonline.com/48265/artslife/review-bad-education-examines-largest-public-school-embezzlement-case-but-isnt-fair-to-all-characters/#

REVIEW: ‘Bad Education’ examines largest public school embezzlement case but isn’t fair to all characters


The school system, at its fundamental level, is meant to educate, lead and inspire the youth. The past years have shown us countless controversies and meddling monetary flubs at the collegiate level. But the public school sphere has seemed rather untouched by the media’s scathing critique as of late. Maybe this is because of its innately smaller scope, as news typically circuits around the local community, rarely breaching beyond that. But, there has been one case at Roslynn High School that surpassed the local realm, and breaking records in the process. The Long Island school holds the grand prize of the largest public school embezzlement in U.S. history — a concept that director Cory Finley explores through the roots of human desire and greed in “Bad Education.”

We see this unfold through the hypocritical eyes of two major players in this deceitful game of taxpayer chess. Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney play superintendent Frank Tassone and assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin of Rosslyn, respectively. Both are well-respected and are proud of their school’s statistical rankings as much as they are excited for some pricey developments. During a peak of success in Roslynn’s public school dominance, in comes student journalist Rachel Bhargava who senses malpractice amid the eerily squeaky-clean reputation of the school. Played with just the right amount of naivety by Geraldine Viswanathan, Rachel is given inspirational advice about journalistic integrity from Tassone early on, giving both the audience and Rachel some dreary foreshadowing in this dramatically ironic scandal. It just took some digging, and seeing this all unravel proves to be equally entertaining and introspectively reflective as we get a multitude of perspectives, giving a sense of humanity to these characters who are so disconnected from the rest of us.
By pushing assumptions of involvement in these crimes in plain sight, the audience gets to investigate the reasons as to why they committed the crimes of tax embezzlement and not how they did it. This is something that director Cory Finley is keenly aware of, as we get multi-faceted looks at bits and pieces of this case, from its humble beginnings as a student’s puff piece for the school paper to the eventual punishment handed to those unethically involved. The feeling of familiarity felt within the story at large is no coincidence, as “Bad Education” is written by Mike Makowsky, an alum of Roslynn High School in the late 2000s, years after the scandal unfurled.


Hugh Jackman hits a career-high here as well, giving an enduringly conceited performance of a complex character with conflicting motives. He starts off as Dr. Frank Tassone, the school’s hero, our trusty protagonist. But as we steep deeper into the inseparable entanglement between selfish desires and justifiable insecurities, we find something wholly relatable in Tassone’s actions. There is no right and wrong, as these are the types of characters and stories that make for prompt discussion and realizations after the credits roll.


Given the incredible performance by Jackman, it is disappointing that his character’s sexuality is treated as purely a motive and almost a flaw in his downfall. This implication is one that I truly feel was unintentional, but it regardless feels like an afterthought. Especially when you are telling a true story, you have a certain amount of due diligence to tell the story with fairness and integrity, just as the journalist who initially broke the Roslynn embezzlement abided by.

There have been differing impressions on why Tassone's sexuality was included in the storytelling --

*Above review talks about this aspect as his motivating issue
*Tassone himself objected that it was sordid or words to that effect
*LGBTs liked its inclusion.

It was a fact that Tassone is gay.

But like other things in this character piece, it was one aspect he did not openly admit, even trying to fool people that his devotion to his late wife ( who passed on early) was unfailing...leading to the public conclusion of what a good and devoted man he is.

His lifelong domestic partner lived away from Long Island...and turned out to be his accomplice in his financial malversation. Surely, that collusion to get money improperly was not the initial motivation for their getting together because it started when Tassone was still very low in the totem pole.

The relationship with Kyle was incidental -- but it came at a time when Tassone was probably already getting frustrated by with how he was playing his role in the school community. He was beginning to feel unrewarded ( and probably frustrated that he had to resort to unethical means to get the school to its current ranking). He works ( attending the seminar)...and these 2 other guys were simply enjoying Vegas! It didn't seem fair.

Along came this younger man from his past ( another favorite student?) and being away from prying eyes, he probably thought that this was a chance for him to be himself. More like an illicit relationship ( he still had his other partner), without the pressure that his standing in the school demands. He was simply finding moments of letting go. Did he really fall for Kyle in a deeper way? Maybe? But Kyle represented someone with whom he can be true.

Just my impression. Could be different from how others saw it?


Jo

[jo]

katieatthemovies.com/2020/05/05/review-bad-education/

Katie at the Movies

Review: “Bad Education”
Posted on May 5, 2020 by Katie Carter
In light of the 2019 college admissions scandal, “Bad Education” feels like a very timely movie. But it’s actually based on a true event that occurred in the early 2000s. Set in the small Long Island town of Roslyn, it explores the largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history.


Directed by Cory Finley and written by Mike Makowsky (who attended Roslyn Middle School at the time of the events of this film), the story centers around Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman), the superintendent of the Roslyn school district. The beginning of the film establishes Frank as being well-liked by the school’s parents, students, and his colleagues. He is friendly, down-to-earth, and goes above and beyond at his job. When Roslyn High School student reporter Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan) goes to Frank’s office to interview him for what she refers to as a puff piece, he encourages her, saying that it is only a puff piece if she lets it become one. Meanwhile, it’s discovered that the school’s assistant superintendent, Pamela Gluckin (Allison Janney) has been racking up a large amount of personal purchases on the school’s credit card. Frank, upon hearing about this news, thrusts all the blame upon Pam and insists on keeping the scandal on the down-low so it doesn’t threaten the school district’s reputation and impact their number of college admissions. But as Rachel (inspired by Frank’s own words to her) does some digging of her own, it comes to light that Frank has also been stealing from the school over the course of many years as well, using thousands of dollars to fund a lavish lifestyle that includes plastic surgery, first class flights to London, nice cars, and multiple homes.

Bad Education Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney Photograph by JoJo Whilden/HBO


Jackman gives a career-best performance as Frank. He peels back the layers of the character as the film progresses in a way that comes off as entirely naturally. At the start of the film, his Frank is charismatic and likeable, but there’s also an aloofness to him that gives that charm just the slightest touch of phoniness. As the story progresses, he transforms into a quietly threatening presence that is at times terrifying to behold, and it’s a credit to Jackman’s talent that it is able to convey all these layers to the character so clearly and believably. Janney’s role is smaller but equally impressive. Her character is bold and dominates every scene she’s in, to the point where it’s hard to believe she’s playing someone from the real world and that this role wasn’t written specifically with her in mind. Other memorable supporting cast members include Ray Romano, Alex Wolff, Annaleigh Ashford, and Hari Dhillon.

“Bad Education” is a bit uneven throughout. A subplot of the film explores Frank’s life as a closeted gay man, who had an affair with a former student (played by Rafael Casal) unbeknownst to his longtime partner Tom (Stephen Spinella). These scenes aren’t essential to the unraveling of the embezzlement scandal itself, but they do further solidify Frank as someone who regularly engages in deception. The film does, however, a great job showing the lavish lifestyles Pam and Frank lead even before the extent of their embezzlement comes to light. In spite of the fact that none of the main characters are likeable overall (nor should they be), it also gives us a hero to root for in Rachel and her fellow student reporters looking to break the story.

Like any movie based on a true story, “Bad Education” does take a few liberties from the facts. It’s a shocking story, but it’s told in a way that is engaging and even occasionally humorous. It may even make you rethink America’s public school system, just a bit—but don’t look for this movie to inform more than it entertains.


“Bad Education” is now available to watch on HBO. Runtime: 108 minutes. Rated TV-MA. 4 out of 5 stars.

[jo]

A review that is more of a back-handed compliment to Hugh Jackman's acting talent!

www.spokane7.com/blog/2020/may/05/hbos-bad-education-gives-jackman-good-role/

Who cares - the review brought back up to 94 % the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate rating, after some long-winded and difficult-to-comprehend review kept it at 93%. It invites eyerolls that those which have given the movie a Rotten rating ( 7 of 108) come from never-heard-blog/publications. RT did say that they are trying to broaden the critic base - but maybe they should also vet the kind of analysis that the prospective RT critic shows in his previous work.

Jo

[jo]

A YouTube review -- Reviewer is very elated at how the movie has turned out!



Again, those Oscar hopes are mentioned!


Jo

[jo]

INDIEWIRE picks out the BEST Movies to come out so far from 2020 --

www.indiewire.com/feature/best-movies-2020-films-1202217382/

The 2020 release calendar hit a snag with the coronavirus outbreak, but not before a number of cinematic highlights made their way to U.S. screens. Now, others are finding their way to audiences on VOD. Our running list of the best movies of 2020 so far only includes movies that have received a U.S. theatrical release or have become available on VOD platforms accessible in North America.

Only films that received a B+ or higher qualify for inclusion; we’ll keep it updated as the year continues. Check out brief excerpts below and links to the full review.

“Bad Education” (Review)

It’s strange that, as Americans, we still tell ourselves that corruption is usually a symptom of greed, as opposed (or in addition) to something that happens when people can’t afford to question their own worth. It’s a red, white, and blue twist on a universal kind of perceptual asymmetry: When you do something wrong, you think of an excuse — when someone else does something wrong, you think of a motive. The incredible magic trick of Cory Finley’s “Bad Education,” a diabolically smart true-life crime drama that stars Hugh Jackman in his best performance since “The Prestige,” is how it manages to balance that asymmetry in the most savage and softhearted of ways, inviting sympathy for the devil even after it convinces you why he should go to hell.

[jo]

Concise but precise!

Review from New Zealand --

Film3
Review: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney pitch-perfect in Bad Education
5 hours ago

Kate Rodger


Here's Kate Rodger's verdict. Credits: Video - Newshub; Image - HBO.


Life after Logan is a continuing showcase of just how great Hugh Jackman is.

His new film Bad Education has just landed on Neon and he is just excellent.

It is based on the New York magazine story documenting the extraordinary character of Frank Tassone, the charismatic and suave superintendent of one of the best high schools in America. He had his students, his board and wider community of Long Island wrapped around his perfectly manicured finger.

When his 2IC Pam Gluckin - played by the superb Allison Janney - is caught with her hands in the school cookie jar, Tassone convinces the board that going public would be the worst possible outcome for the school's enviable reputation. And Tassone is a very convincing man.

Jackman and Janney are pitch-perfect, as are their supporting cast. The incisive, entertaining script packages up a story that could so easily have been done by numbers.

A very worthy four-star watch.

Contact Newshub with your story tips:
[e-mail]

[jo]

[hughmanity]

A bit lengthy, but an interesting one because apparently the reviewer scored an interview with the director.

[jo]

May
14


Bad Education



Hugh Jackman starring in a movie which ultimately gets released on television is a far-from-reality setting but then again – we are in a far-from-reality situation ourselves. And hence, Jackman’s choices are always a welcome addition to bring down the pressure of what or what not the COVID-19 virus can do.

We follow a scandal which begins erupting in a school in uptown, New York.

This 108-minute drama unfolds with a scintillating sense of drama, detail, and dialogue – all enhanced by the impeccable cast at hand. Ray Romano and Allison Janney engulf in their characters while Jackman does the heavy lifting and boy, he lifts heavy.

What takes me most by surprise is not the fact that Jackman pitched in a great performance. It is the fact that he can deliver a perfect performance while knowing he is one of the biggest superstars in the world. This is not a $200-million wannabe-blockbuster. This is not even the $84-million musical which might engage the audience through the sprawling sets, songs, and ensemble. This movie takes place in the administrative office of a school for most part while delving deep into the lives of those involved with what happened, never at once making you feel that a scene might have overstayed its welcome.

Bad Education is a Hugh Jackman show all the way – if that is not apparent yet. And it is not his greatness as an actor which makes this work. It is his willingness to play a 50-year old with all the bells and whistles which come with it without worrying about how his next big-budget extravaganza will open at the worldwide box-office. Jackman surrenders to the script and moves as required, with Cory Finley directing the script with finesse and Michael Abels providing a score for the records. All that greatness in one movie. It proves that big stars do not need big budgets.

They need better scripts.

9/10.

[jo]

Letterboxd — Your life in film


Review by J.S. Lewis Pro

Bad Education 2019 ★★★★
Watched May 02, 2020
J.S. Lewis’s review published on Letterboxd:

All right, if the thought of watching a dramatization of “the largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history” doesn’t blow your hair back, you’re not alone. But if the thought of Hugh Jackman’s “best work of his career” does blow your hair back—and his hair is blown back in this film!—you’re not alone either. This one took a stretch to get me onboard, but once I realized what it was doing and why it was holding its hand so close to the vest, I became oh-so invested to the point that I said, “I love this.” as the credits rolled.

I’m not “Jackman complete” (then again, who is?) and I thought he made as terrific a Jean Valjean as he did a Logan/Wolverine (if that’s not range, what is?), but I’d daresay this is as good as he’s ever been. Frank Tassone is such a fascinating character and Jackman fills those dry-cleaned suits with such pathos.

Director Corey Finley proves Thoroughbreds was no fluke with his smashing sophomore effort, working off a script from Mike Makowsky who was a student at Roslyn at the time. He found himself looking back all these years later wanting to do his hometown justice. I'd say justice was certainly served. That it was done with such intrigue and nuance is mercy.

◘ HBO GO (Culver City, CA)

[jo]

Review: Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney don’t give a damn about their Bad Education, resulting in a bad reputation

Author Justin Seals
Date May 6, 2020

There’s a moment in HBO’s new original film Bad Education where Huch Jackman’s character, superintendent Frank Tassone, encourages student reporter Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan) to be adventurous and creative in her report on a fancy new upgrade to the Roslyn school in New York. Sadly for Frank and the rest of his staff, he’s revealed a dangling thread on a carefully crafted quilt of lies. And the more Bhargava pulls at it, the quilt gradually unravels, and a town’s image of someone they considered a hero crumbles to pieces.

I think we’ve been sleeping on just how varied an acting talent Jackman is, and his performance here is a good example as to why. He’s been a gritty clawed X-man, disgraced politician Gary Hart, a pampered cartoon mouse in Flushed Away, and what I thought was an underrated and pretty good Valjean in Les Miserables.

Now you can add his turn as Tassone to some of his more interesting roles, as part of a true-story tale detailing what was the biggest school embezzlement incident in the history of the United States. Hugh’s performance goes from someone totally in control to someone making constant excuses for everything going wrong, then to incredibly indignant while having a conference with a student later in the film.

Director Cory Finley sets up Tassone’s fall well, going through his daily routines as normal while Rachel’s investigation sends her further down the rabbit hole. Finley juxtaposes this by showing how other repairs are badly needed for the school outside of a new skywalk, seemingly going ignored by the powers that be- among them Frank’s partner Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), who revels in the financial benefits of the district’s success and rising property values in the community.
Frank believes “a town’s only as good as its school district”, a claim that Bad Education takes full advantage of as it sets up its story. So then why is there well over $200,000 missing from the district’s bank account? The hole leads them down into what eventually totals $11 million lost.

Throughout this movie there’s a strong sense of tragedy, because Cory Finley shows us how Tassone and the other officials are so respected and trusted by students, clients and parents, having us grow to like and admire them- before Bhargava’s sleuthing upends our trust. He’s equally encouraging to both current and former students, sharing a sweet romantic bit with graduate-turned-waiter Kyle (Rafael Casal).
At no point do Jackman or the director depict Frank as a mustache-twirling bad guy, showing how complex a character he actually is- both through small quirks like his obsessive no-carb diet and fondness for plastic surgery, and his general neurosis. I can see where the story might rub some the wrong way because it doesn’t totally vilify him, and his actions certainly will make you angry.

But Finley knows Tassone isn’t a person who can easily be defined one specific way, because he’s affected so many others in varying fashions. Here’s someone who’s reached all this success and acclaim, and yet something inside him causes him to still feel unfulfilled and underappreciated. And all of the flowery rhetoric he’s given Rachel as an encouragement, he just totally backpedals on as he desperately tries to discourage her.
While we’re praising Jackman for obvious reasons, Janney as Superintendent Gluckin turns in a great performance in her own right, going from incredibly smug and secure of her lofty social status to anger and then intense regret. One scene where Tassone and the staff confront her (in what is an effort for her to take the fall publicly) perfectly depicts how devastating this moment is to her, as she fails to maintain an image of professionalism.

For the most part, this is an extremely slow-burning movie with a heavy emphasis on realism (outside of a surreal fantasy sequence before the film’s end), and it asks you to listen closely as it sets up its clues. The payoff is eventually worth it because it’s fascinating to see how this situation impacts not just the perpetrators but everyone else around them.
It doesn’t come off as a huge shock- we see the scheme in practice before it’s exposed, and it unfolds as a gradual deterioration. Still, the nuance in the performances (including Ray Romano as the frustrated board president, who is always appropriately baffled as the chaos keeps unfolding) will likely hold the audience’s attention.

If you showed interested in the recent college admission scandals in the news, or if you’re simply interested in some grounded but strong acting, Bad Education is an easy recommendation. I would rate it a bit higher if we got to know Rachel more on a personal level and it went deeper into how badly these families were affected by the embezzlement, but it’s still worth a watch just for how fascinating the house of cards falling winds up. And as always, if you’ve had the chance to check it out, drop us a line at @official_FAN on Twitter and let’s have a discussion about it!

I think the motivation of Pam Gluckin is easy to discern. She simply wanted things for people she loved...and reached into the cookie jar without remorse.


Jo

[jo]

entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, TIFF 2019
Hugh Jackman Deliciously Diabolical in Bad Education
3 Comments


Last year award-winning actress Felecity Huffman paid thousands of dollars because she wanted her daughter to have a ‘fair shot’ at college. For someone like me, a ‘fair shot’ included my mother working two jobs, me securing financial aid and working three jobs while taking more than 20 credit hours so that I could graduate. Not only did I graduate, but I made the Dean’s List and was Homecoming Queen for The School of Communications.

Hard work and little elbow grease never hurt anybody, but privileged members of society always feel like they can break the rules with no consequences or repercussions. Well, for Rosyln High School in the New York borough of Long Island Pam Gluckin and Frank Tassone learned that lesson in spades.

Inspired by a true story, Bad Education is a smartly assembled, hilariously dark, at times squirm-in-your-seat chronicle of the most fascinating financial crime in the history of the US school system. Directed by Cory Finley from a script by Mike Makowsky, (who was in the seventh grade in the Roslyn School District awhen the scandal hit), the film is a master class in being a con-artists, with the charismaticly handsome Frank taking measures by any means necessary to conceal his authentic self from his colleagues and the law, but attempt this carefully constructed charade from crumbling to bits.
Long Island school superintendent Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and his assistant superintendent for business, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), brought the Roslyn School District unprecedented prestige with numbers of college admissions other schools sorely rivaled. Frank, always immaculately groomed and tailored, is a master of positive messaging, who can apparently do no wrong.

All of that goes to hell in a handbasket when Tassone encourages a timid student reporter, Rachel (Geraldine Viswanathan) to dig deep into a skywalk project. Turns out that one project had some questionable expense reports and a major embezzlement scheme of epic proportions is uncovered by Rachel. Quietly panicking, Frank devises an elaborate cover-up without any regard for whose life is ruined or thrown under the bus.


Hugh Jackman is not singing, dancing, smiling or being a superhero wolf and finally getting the chance to flex his acting muscles as a serious actor (he was equally impressive in The Front Runner, which was largely ignored earlier this year about former Presidential Nominee Gary Hart). He is so deliciously despicable and menacing as Frank Tassone that it will literally make your skin crawl. Academy Award-winner Allison Janney hitting another home run as Pam Gluckin. She is so arrogantly annoying that you have no empathy or sympathy for her plight of white privilege. Ray Romano is fantabulous as the School Board President who becomes frazzled to his wits end.

Cory Finley beautifully crafts a tale that weaves and bobs in such a way that you almost forget this was a true story. That opening shot of Tassone plucking nose hair, slicking that perfect hairdo and sucking back his charcoal smoothie perfectly sets up this man who is a total fraud in every way, but yet this is the one aspect of his life that he can control and has normalcy with. Equally impressive is using the holiday classic Blue Christmas to illustrate the pain for Pam and Frank during this ordeal. Frank gets a facelift and Pam is sitting void of any emotion while her family celebrates on Christmas Day. Pure genius.



The most shocking revelation comes during the end credits when the audience learns the school system was scammed out of more that 11.2 million dollars and that due to a New York State Pension mistake, Frank Tassone still receives more than 173,000 a year. Only in America.

Bad Education is an epic lesson in what happens when the community stops paying attention and gets swayed by smoke and mirrors. Your children and communities deserve better. Stay woke.

[jo]

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Bad Education review — Jaw-dropping tale of suburban fraud

May 13, 2020
Directed by Cory Finley | Written by Mike Makowsky, based on the article “The Bad Superintenent” in New York magazine by Robert Kolker | 108 min | HBO/Crave

Go into this film cold.
You can read up about Frank Tassone and the scandal that rocked an upper middle-class district of Long Island, New York, if you must, but I knew nothing about it before watching the film, and was gobsmacked to discover what these people got up to when nobody was looking. Or, more accurately, when nobody cared.
I’ll give you only the basic facts, which are far from spoiler-y: Hugh Jackman is Tassone, a much admired educational superintendent who works hard, remembers all the students’ names, and shakes all their parents’ hands. He recognizes how much a good school — one that uses a list of students who go to Ivy League schools as a marketing hammer — can make a difference in a community. He takes pride in his work. But he’s someone with a secret. Maybe more than one.

Also involved in what happens, and a lot happens, are other school functionaries, such as Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), her cousin Jenny Aquila (Annaleigh Ashford), Big Bob Spicer (Ray Romano), and a student journalist named Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan).
What’s remarkable here is how much the community at the school wants to look the other way, because if the secret gets out, it’s going to make all their lives much more difficult. It’s gonna mess with their plans and their lifestyles. It’s going to lower real estate values.

The director, Cory Finley, who helmed the smooth and well-told Thoroughbreds, guides us through this plot in such a way it tempts us with collusion, and does so by parcelling out information gradually, in perfectly measured increments, and by casting the wonderfully likeable Jackman and Janney. Viswanathan is also excellent as someone who refuses to be intimidated, even as she has plenty of reason to be so.

Bad Education reminds me how much Jackman brought to The Front Runner in a role not so dissimilar to this one, but I have a feeling his distinct lack of vanity here might earn him more plaudits, the controlled desperation.

That said, Frank Tassone is a character for whom you can feel Jackman, Finley, and their collaborators have a lot of sympathy. The film around him is worthy of the performance.

[jo]

From New Zealand --

www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/05/review-hugh-jackman-allison-janney-pitch-perfect-in-bad-education.html

Film3
Review: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney pitch-perfect in Bad Education
09/05/2020

Kate Rodger

Here's Kate Rodger's verdict. Credits: Video - Newshub; Image - HBO.


Life after Logan is a continuing showcase of just how great Hugh Jackman is.

His new film Bad Education has just landed on Neon and he is just excellent.

It is based on the New York magazine story documenting the extraordinary character of Frank Tassone, the charismatic and suave superintendent of one of the best high schools in America. He had his students, his board and wider community of Long Island wrapped around his perfectly manicured finger.

When his 2IC Pam Gluckin - played by the superb Allison Janney - is caught with her hands in the school cookie jar, Tassone convinces the board that going public would be the worst possible outcome for the school's enviable reputation. And Tassone is a very convincing man.

Jackman and Janney are pitch-perfect, as are their supporting cast. The incisive, entertaining script packages up a story that could so easily have been done by numbers.

A very worthy four-star watch.

[jo]

Some blogs or minor reviews are sometimes amusing

*Some say it is not a dark comedy - there are no jokes in it

*Someone said that she is giving it only lower ratings because she prefers to see Hugh in a song-and-dance movie. And this came from a supposed film critic from Colorado

*Some say it should have shown the epilog as actually acted in the movie ( not just given as post-script notes -- this is with reference to their conviction and parole (including the payment of lifetime pension) - they want everything laid out in cinematic scenes. I am almost reminded of the many complaints as to why Keller Dover was not shown as being rescued or not in Prisoners. Some people want straightforward storytelling.

*Some say that Allison and Ray were shortchanged by the script - lol - that is how it happened in real life! If those actors did not want relatively small roles than usual, it was their choice!

*Some observed : "Hugh is getting old". He is playing a role and it is age-appropriate to some extent.

*Some say it is smaller in tone and topic for an HBO original movie. Ha, it was never meant to be an HBO original. Also, it is not meant to be straightforward storytelling ( with all the bells and whistles ) -- it is a social satire! How a man who had initial good intentions and whose passion was that of being an educator lost his way... in a setting where the environment played a conspiratorial role in essence. It is the interactions of these people and how their relationships evolved which is examined by this movie. If there would be another appropriate medium for presenting this cautionary tale - maybe a dramatic play ( but darkly comedic in a way) would have been perfect? Btw, Cory Finley is actually a playwright

These observations from (maybe) typical HBO original movie patrons further highlights why this indie should have been considered a cinema (maybe even an arthouse) movie! It was a slip that it was allowed to be presented solely to an audience that had other usual expectations. Could it even affect how the EMMY voters will view it? For movie awards, this would have been viewed by many as a cinematic indie triumph!

Btw, what is an HBO original movie supposed to be anyway?

Jo

[mamaleh]

I don't see HBO original movies as hewing to any particular genre or subject matter. They've done so many films of all kinds.

Ellen

[jo]

I lifted this --

it is smaller in tone and topic for an HBO original movie

from the CNN review and given how they are thought of as knowledgeable on many aspects, I thought it must be a fairly true observation.

I guess he does not see too many of them?

Jo