Bad Education

Bad Education
Starring Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff
Directed by Cory Finley

High school is an animal all in itself.  I don't remember much about my high school days, but I think our school was a bit more calmer than most - a small, country community where everyone knows everyone and my graduating class was under a hundred.  However I know there's some schools out there that are highly competitive and want to be recognized nationwide as one of the best, and its this quest for power that causes some members of the upper echelon of learning to do some scrupulous things.  One such school - Roslyn High School - was one such school. As they tried to make their school the best, some of the more powerful leaders of the school embezzled over eleven million dollars, and would've gotten away with it too - if it wasn't for one meddling kid.

Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is the superintendent of Roslyn High, and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) is his assistant superintendent.  They've been working on creating a skywalk for the school to rise its notoriety from the fourth-ranked public school in the country to first, and student reporter Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan) is doing a special report for the paper about it.  She wants to delve more into the story than what's asked of her, and during her investigation she discovers several discrepancies in the finances, and Pam is revealed to have a fraudulent district expense card that she's been using for her own private use.  When word reaches the board, Pam is forced to resign - but that's just the tip of the iceberg, as Rachel continues to delve deeper into the mystery and threatens to expose the entire school - especially Frank - for the embezzlement they've done.

"Bad Education" is the true story of the 2004 Roslyn High embezzlement scandal, before scandals such as these were glorified thanks to the college admissions scandal.  It's interesting in the fact that it would never had come to light if it wasn't for an intrepid young high school reporter who wouldn't back down from a story, having the courage that most adults lack.  It wasn't an easy thing for Rachel Bhargava to do, but she managed to do the right thing despite the consequences and was able to expose the bad guys for who they really were.  This film is excellent in that it tells a simple story that corruption and greed won't win out, as long as there's people out there who will fight for the truth.

The film is filled with top-notch actors who give their all to the project, and it truly shows in the outcome.  Oscar-nominee Hugh Jackman pulls out some of his best work as Frank Tassone, a man who at first seems like the picture perfect superintendent - he knows the students' names, he takes time to listen to parents' problems, and he seems like an overall nice guy.  Yet under the surface bubbles secrets and lies that he's been juggling for decades, and there's the constant worry that his deceit will come to light.  Jackman manages to balance this performance with ease, at once appearing to be the best man possible, and turning on a dime and turning into a real-life villain. 

Likewise, Oscar-winner Allison Janney plays Pam with equal parts dark humor and personal resentment, a woman who clearly is living beyond her means and relishing in all the decadence that comes with it, but along with Tassone lives with the constant worry that she'll be found out eventually.  Geraldine Viswanathan (whose career was launched in the comedy "Blockers" but then dominated the screen in "The Broken Hearts Gallery") plays Rachel with a tepid innocence and fierce determination to bring out the truth at any cost.  While her editor just wanted a simple puff piece, she delved into the underbelly of the beast and managed to find the truth hidden within, and you can sense her own personal struggle with coming forward with the information, knowing it could destroy more than just the guilty parties involved. 

Filled with fantastic performances and delivering a solid, true-life mystery, "Bad Education" mixes dark humor with even darker truth that shows not everything - or everyone - is what it seems.

The Score: A+