The urge to sensationalize the radical story at the heart of Bad Education must have been eating away at the creative team during development. The story just seems so wildly unbelievable that falling into the comfortable groove of heightened exploitation, such as featured in The Wolf of Wall Street, would have felt like an easy lay-up. Instead, Thoroughbreds director Cory Finley and writer Mike Makowsky (I Think We’re Alone Now), who attended the school where these events took place, go for a subtle, grounded approach that lets the wild twists and turn land even harder in the context of this painfully normal world. Similar to his debut, Finley mines a lot of dark humor from the proceedings, but he never cheapens the experience by including anything that would not seem organic to the story. Featuring Hugh Jackman at his least glamorous and the always-fantastic Allison Janney, Bad Education is a biting depiction of the importance placed on outward success and the ways in which that clashes with the truth.
In the early 2000s, Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is the affable school superintendent that serves as a friend to everyone in the community of Roslyn in Long Island, NY. Frank has worked tirelessly to make Roslyn High one of the top performing public schools in the country; test scores keep rising, graduates are attending Ivy League schools in record numbers, and the forthcoming $7.5 million “sky walk” is set to boost the community’s standing, along with property values. He is also important to the community on a personal level, as the impeccably groomed Frank is always happy to spare a moment to the helicopter parents in need of some one-on-one attention from someone who cares. Frank claims to have lost his wife years ago, and is unable to get past his “grief” as any number of women fawn over him. Frank has the trust of the community, who hail him as a hero for all of the good fortune he has brought to their lives. As alluded to previously, the idealized outward appearance on display may not always tell the complete story.
It is at this point where I will put in the disclaimer that, although a true story, specific plot developments past that of the logline will be avoided to preserve some surprises for those who have not read the news story that inspired this film. In a beautiful twist of fate, it is Frank’s endless support that convinces school reporter Rachel (Geraldine Viswanatha, Blockers) to employ some real journalistic techniques to her self-described “puff piece” on the impending sky walk construction project. Viswanatha has been low-key churning out some of the best performances in the past several years, and her incredible turn here just furthers the idea that she is destined to be a star. The way in which she turns Rachel’s reticence into a dogged pursuit of the truth is perfect. It does not take long before she starts finding evidence that something is fishy with the books. When she approaches school business administrator Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney, I,Tonya) to confirm her suspicions, things begin to spiral out wildly and dominos begin to fall on one of the largest embezzlement schemes in public school history. The added layers that surface within this story provide an unending amount of intrigue, even when it borders on the unbelievable.
All of these figures at the center of this story are fascinating, and the script does not go for a straight “these people were bad, they got punished, everything is fine now” plot points. Sure, the perpetrators were incredibly reckless and misguided with school funds, but they also built a community in which the residents benefitted. These residents that, under normal circumstances, would have been reaping the rewards while these faculty members survived on their unsubstantial salaries. The movie offers room for nuance that opens up several factions to deserved scrutiny and criticism. Finley has created a delicate work of art that will inspire discussions on wealth inequality and the default nature of protecting your own self-interest. Our all-star cast ties it all together with some of the best performances of their career. We have come to expect Allison Janney to destroy in every project she takes, but Hugh Jackman is so willingly vanity-free in this role that you are instantly won over by his performance. Jackman has always had a showmanship that has worked for him in his films, but Bad Education has him reign things back in a way that will leave you knowing that you have just witnessed one of his all-time finest performance. HBO Films made an excellent choice of acquiring one of the most relentlessly fascinating films of the year.
Video Quality
Bad Education arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of Warner Archive with an excellent AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The film has more of a harsh, high contrast aesthetic to provide a stark reality in which something like this could occur. There are not a lot of vibrant colors to showcase here, but the transfer captures the visual palette of the film accurately. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. There are many scenes in darkened hallways and low-lit rooms that maintain their shape. The bright whites of the transfer do not fall victim to any blooming in this presentation. The level of detail on display is quite impressive, giving an almost three-dimensional feel to the picture. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast, and compression artifacts and other such digital nuisances are nonexistent. The Blu-Ray presentation is pretty wonderful in its technical accuracy.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that recreates this world perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always come through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. There is very little in the way of action sequences, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The music in the film fills the room during transitional moments and club scenes, often engaging the low end in a really pleasing manner. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature.
Special Features
- Based on a True Story: A four-minute featurette with the cast and crew in which they give an overview of the story, how the script was developed, the cast members and more. This is a quick, fun piece that packs a lot of information into a short amount of time.
- The Perception of Perfect: A three-minute featurette with the director, writer and Hugh Jackman in which they discuss the culture that led to the crime, how they wanted to portray the character, why they framed certain shots in a particular way and more.
- Hugh Jackman & Allison Janney – Virtual Conversation: A four-minute conversation with our two leads promoting the film and sharing some of their thoughts on working with each other. Probably my favorite of the special features, as the stars seem slightly more relaxed.
Final Thoughts
Bad Education is an elegantly crafted look at one of the most bold white collar crimes to ever hit the public school system. Featuring some of the strongest work of their career, Jackman and Janney shine as their deliciously questionable characters. Warner Archive has saved this HBO Films title from a DVD-only fate by delivering a stunning Blu-Ray presentation complete with some interesting extras. Bad Education is one of the most perfectly satisfying films of the year, and it is one you will want to add to your collection. Highly Recommended
Bad Education will be available to purchase directly through Warner Archive or various other online retailers on September 8, 2020.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
