Review: Bad Education

Without any knowledge of this until the initial buzz from its release on American TV channel HBO, I went into this as cold as you could get.

I think if it wasn't for the situation we are currently in, I don't think I would have discovered this.

But as we are in this predicament, it managed to check out a fascinating true story that made to be a very entertaining piece of work.

The first act really hooks you in and that is thanks a lot to Hugh Jackman's performance. He does a great job in the leading role and really dominates the screen. While he reels you in with his natural charisma, he pulls the rug from underneath you and see this disguised layer of sliminess that keeps you engaged.
But there was also a human side that was portrayed that you can sympathise with. While I don't know if that's how the actual person he is portrayed was like, it certainly helped the film. He makes you question whether he is a bad person, or if he just did a bad thing.

The film moved along nicely as you can see characters starting to fall apart as the revelations emerge and the final act gives you a satisfying conclusion to our central character.

As well as Jackman, the performances on the whole were all pretty good. Alison Janney had solid chemistry with Jackman and had shining moments in the first half especially. Ray Romano was as good as you would expect him to be.
Alex Wolff continues to show his natural talent. It might be a much smaller then his ones in Hereditary and the two latest Jumanji features. But he made great support with breakthrough youngster Geraldine Viswanathan. Her nuanced execution made her more engaging then you might expect and I would be interested where her future goes after this positive performance.

With it being distributed by HBO, the production is of course tip-top and the general look of it was very pleasant for the eyes.

From the same director of the very cool 'Thoroughbreds', I can certainly that magic touch in this. It is also interesting to know that the writer was a student at the school during the time of the incident. So it feels like we're getting a first hand account with a few of the expected added elements of drama to enhance the story.

So while I don't think there is enough great aspects to it, everything about is most enjoyable solid and very enjoyable.

The performances are good and the story is very well told with a lot of themes that really make you think twice about the central character. With it being based on a true story, it naturally just made the content on screen even more startling, and if like me you didn't know the story, then I would just go straight into watching this and read about the true events afterwards.

I hope this is the first of many films that struggled to get a cinematic release, get put out on a streaming service and be found and liked by many during this situation.

Rating: 7/10