Themes: Witnessing a Crime, Haunted By the Past, College Life
Main Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Christopher Marquette, Sebastian Stan
Release Year: 2007
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
A young man is faced with a dilemma when a threatening figure from his past returns in this drama, the directorial debut from Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) and his best friend, Danny (Chris Marquette), grew up in a rough section of New York, where they both knew Mick (Jason Ritter), a kid whose was much admired for his cool and equally feared for his talent for violence. When Mick got into a fight that left two teens nearly dead, Charlie was a witness, and when he was approached by the police, Charlie told them what he saw, though he later refused to testify against Mick in court for fear of his own safety. Several years later, Charlie and Danny have left the old neighborhood behind and are students at a prestigious private university when Mick pays them an unexpected visit. Charlie has no idea if Mick knows that he informed on him to the police, and is afraid to find out, but in the meantime, Mick aggressively reintroduces himself into Charlie and Danny's lives. As Mick starts dressing like a wealthy college boy, reading F. Scott Fitzgerald, and dating a girl Charlie has a crush on, he seems to be transforming himself into someone who can be all Charlie is and more, but in time Mick learns he can't completely turn his back on his past. The Education of Charlie Banks had its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Anyone who knows Fred Durst only as the posturing egotist who rapped lead vocals for Limp Bizkit -- and, let's face it, that's most of us -- will be floored by The Education of Charlie Banks. Not an ounce of that bad boy is present in this sensitive, delicate film about the complex relationship between an intellectual kid and the tempestuous neighborhood bully he fears. It's clear Durst feels a kinship toward Mick Leary (Jason Ritter), the underprivileged rebel whose inability to show mercy has nearly killed several people. But Durst the bombastic performer has never even met Durst the unassuming director, who shows no interest in glamorizing the exploits of his antihero. The Education of Charlie Banks is consistently understated, its production design fondly muted to evoke an easy nostalgia, its soundtrack (supervised by Chris Douridas) a wondrous pastiche of music from the late 1970s, its score (by John Swihart) alternating between playful, contemplative and foreboding. Not only does Durst eschew flashiness, he seems to disdain the very idea of using technique to manipulate us. Peter Elkoff's story draws us in easily, soon shifting to the college years of Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg), where the search continues for a compromise between his moral compass and his loyalty to the psychopath who re-enters his world through a mutual friend. Eisenberg is strong, but not substantially different from his previous work. It's Ritter who really commands our attention. Ritter's performance leaves us consumed with nervous fears of impending disaster, but it's the furthest thing from cartoonish, allowing us to eventually sympathize with Mick, as does Charlie. But neither does Durst's film let us off the hook, harboring plenty of surprises about how these relationships will play out. The Education of Charlie Banks truly functions as our education on the potential of its director. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Jordan Jacobs - Art Director, Declan Baldwin - Co-producer, Elizabeth Shelton - Costume Designer, John Glaser - Costume Designer, Michael Moffa - First Assistant Director, Curtis Smith - First Assistant Director, Fred Durst - Director, Eric L. Beason - Editor, Sam Maydew - Executive Producer, Peter Elkoff - Executive Producer, John Swihart - Composer (Music Score), Chris Douridas - Musical Direction/Supervision, Alex Nepomniaschy - Cinematographer, Michael Corrente - Producer, Marisa Polvino - Producer, Christopher Gebert - Sound/Sound Designer, Peter Elkoff - Screenwriter
As a kid, Charlie Banks admired (for his coolness) and feared (for his violence) local bully Mick Leary; in high school, Charlie witnesses Mick beat up two jocks at a party, nearly leaving the two victims dead. Despite Mick being his best friend, Danny's, buddy, Charlie reports Mick to the police.
Three years later, Charlie (Jesse Eisenberg) and Danny (Chris Marquette) are college freshmen who are in for a surprise when Mick (Jason Ritter) shows up for a visit. Does Mick know Charlie was the one who ratted him out? When Mick's stay stretches over the planned weekend, Mick and Charlie begin a game of cat and mouse. Nice one moment, threatening the next, Mick keeps Charlie guessing.
But Mick also begins a strange course of assimilation, donning borrowed cashmere from, reading Charlie's books, auditing his classes, and even seeing the girl, Mary (Eva Amurri), Charlie likes, making Charlie see that he could be all this and more. Soon Charlie begins to wonder if the intellectual caress of higher education can redeem even someone seemingly as far gone as Mick.
In 2007, indie studio Anchor Bay Entertainment announced that it acquired rights to release The Education of Charlie Banks in theaters and on DVD throughout North America.[1] The film received a limited theatrical release on March 27, 2009.[2] It was released on DVD on June 30, 2009. Showtime frequently shows the film.
