“Bad Education” Has Its Secrets
Cory Finley’s Bad Education deftly toys with ideas of secrecy, public life, and the disparity of social classes. Finley uses minimalist filmmaking techniques and incredible acting performances to shed light on the secrets that surround us. Bad Education is slow to start but recovers quickly into a brilliant film that packs quite a punch.
Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman), the well-respected superintendent of New York’s Roslyn School District is above reproach. His cool demeanor and crisp, polished exterior demand perfection of himself and the school district he’s worked so hard to cultivate. However, when an embezzlement scandal rocks the wealthy district, Tassone and the assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) struggle to keep their secrets under wraps. Once Rachel, a student reporter (Geraldine Viswanathan), begins sniffing around the school’s finances, the manicured excellence created by Tassone begins to unravel as his secrets, both professional and private, begin to become revealed. In the story of the largest public school embezzlement scheme in American history, the only stones left unturned are the ones no one is looking under.
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney shine as the, at first, likable school officials. Their façade is one of perfection and pride and that veneer seems to carry into the district itself. Jackman’s Tassone relishes his students’ success, which in turn benefits the community’s wealth. His eternal smile and commanding presence give the illusion of power and confidence. The ability of Jackman to pull the audience into Tassone’s world and lull them into false comfort is truly extraordinary. Through Jackman’s performance we are given a set of solid ideals, then once those ideals are proven bogus, Jackman once again morphs into an all-new character, exposing the reality that is beneath the carefully crafted façade. Alternately, Janney’s Gluckin wears her ambition on her sleeve. We know she is a flawed character from the start, and we love her even more for it. The honesty that she exposes in her lies is truly manipulative, and counters the perfection of Jackman’s Tassone delightfully. The only downside is that once Gluckin has fulfilled her role, she vanishes without a thorough explanation. Janney is such a loveable mess in this film, it’s difficult to grasp her sudden reduction. The performances of the lead characters (especially Jackman) drive Bad Education, but it’s the secrets in the story that allow their performances to thrive.
Secrets are of great importance to Bad Education. Through the performances of Jackman and Janney and the minimalist direction of Cory Finley, the secrets underneath the façade are slow to come to the surface, but when they do the magic truly happens. The cleverness of Bad Education is how the story is introduced. We are dropped square in the middle of an ongoing saga. We spend a lot of time getting to know these characters and their world, which subtly builds up expectations and understandings. Once new secrets are unearthed, we feel intrigued, disillusioned, and fatigued. These new emotions allow for an exciting viewing experience, through the film’s sheer manipulation of our expectations. Every character has something hidden that they struggle to keep covered. Whether it be Tassone’s sexual orientation, Gluckin’s dubious wealth, or the district’s many citizens’ misunderstandings of the social hierarchy; all the secrets become exposed and the truth is put on public display. The film deals with these secrets in many ways, and sometimes has more to say about the secret holder than the secret itself.
One secret in particular is Tassone’s sexual orientation. As I said before, Bad Education drops us in the middle of a story in progress. We are told that Tassone’s wife is dead. While he still wears the ring, he is depicted as a grieving widower and his lack of attraction to women seems to be due to his mourning. However, once we learn the truth about Tassone’s hidden life as a gay man, which is brilliantly depicted in a moment of confusion for both Rachel and the audience, we begin to understand the reasons Tassone keeps his secrets secret. To Tassone, his façade is of utmost importance. He does not hide his same-sex relationships out of shame, he hides them out of necessity. He understands his community better than anyone. With that understanding, he comes to grips with how his sexual orientation will be perceived. He has calculated that it would not be good for business, so he hides it. However, even Tassone’s secrets have secrets.
As he wrestles with a hidden marriage and a jet-setting affair, he refuses to be honest with himself. His focus on his façade dictates his path and that path inevitably leads to destruction. Tassone’s sexual orientation is not explicitly denigrated in Bad Education. However, the implication of his sexuality being exposed is that of a resulting social scandal. The depiction of Tassone’s relationships are deep and profound, further exposing how his public and private personas are at odds with each other. The message instilled in the film is that Tassone is openly gay, but in his professional life he is not. His public image is of such great importance that Tassone himself cannot unveil his true self to the community he claims to covet. He can lie to everyone around him, but, as much as he tries, he cannot lie to himself.
Bad Education features some amazing performances and some subtle narrative nuances that continue to breathe new life into the story. The secrets that are revealed force a perspective into the world created and allow us to see how society views perceived perfection. The film starts very slow, but once the microcosm has been established the secrets that are exposed feel like depth charges. Bad Education manipulates your perceptions and truly, isn’t that what movies are meant to do?
Bad Education is now streaming on all HBO platforms.
