Review of The Education of Charlie Banks (2007) by Ellen R — 22 Jun 2009

I had no expectations regarding this movie as I had not heard any buzz about it, and was therefore pleasantly surprised by the intelligent script and credible acting. The story begins circa 1970s in Greenwich Village and the narrator is a pre-teen Charlie, son of a bookstore owner, who makes the observation that a certain Mick Leary was the "baddest kid in the Village." Years later, the now teenage Charlie [Jesse Eisenberg] finds himself crossing paths with Mick [Jason Ritter] at a make-out party, and later witnesses Mick beating up two jocks. Charlie decides to come forward and make a statement to the police, one which he eventually retracts due to fear. Fast forward a couple of years later, and Charlie now finds himself sharing a room at college with his best friend Danny [Christopher Marquette] and is shocked one day when he returns to his dorm room to find a ghost from his past, i.e. Mick who plans to stay for a bit. Charlie is tormented with fear and guilt that Mick will find out it was Charlie that exposed Mick to the police all those years ago. Things are made even more complicated when Mick starts socializing in Charlie's circle of friends, and forms an attraction to Mary [Eva Amurri, Susan Sarandon's daughter], the girl of Charlie's dreams. The tensions mount as Charlie finds it harder to mask his resentment at Mick's presence whilst battling his own conscience about the events of the past.

But events spiral out of control and Charlie once again finds himself in a difficult position, having to make a choice between doing what is ethically right and just letting things go.

I thought the movie was well-directed for the most part. The first half an hour or so were kind of plodding, but once Mick shows up in Charlie's dorm room, the action and plot picks up, mostly due to the powerful performance turned in by Jason Ritter as the enigmatic and angry young thug battling his own demons whilst trying to fit in. Jesse Eisenberg's performance as the anguished Charlie is not as great as Ritter's, as he seems to be sulking for the majority of the movie, but not altogether bad either. The supporting cast does a credible job in their respective performances, and the New England scenery paints a pretty picture of a college town in the 70s.

"The Education of Charlie Banks" deals with various themes that are for the most part, compellingly portrayed - angst, choices, fitting in, class stratification etc, all of which mesh together to portray a convincing coming-of-age drama. Recommended.