The Education of Charlie Banks

The Education of Charlie Banks is a coming-of-age story, beginning in the early 1970s. The film questions whether people can really change. It shows the self-destructing effects of aggression and physical violence. The story mainly focuses on the relationship between a notorious bully and the slightly awkward boy who nearly sent him to jail for assault. Believe it or not, Limp Bizkit's head man, Fred Durst, is responsible for this subtle but very moving film. Durst's "The Longshots" was actually released before this but "The Education of Charlie Banks" is his directorial debut. This film shows a far more genuine effort than "The Longshots." It's lacking in a few areas, but it is very impressive for a first time director, and a bold move on Durst's part.

Ever since they were kids, Charlie, played by Jesse Eisenberg, has always been awed and unable to conceive Mick's (Jason Ritter) bullying tactics. As Mick grew older, this escalated from picking on defenseless kids to starting bar fights and making sure he finished them. One night he nearly kills two guys for no real reason. Charlie witnessed this and reported it to the police. His eyewitness account was the only thing they had on Mick. So when Charlie declines to go through with it for the sake of a mutual friend, Danny, played by Chris Marquette, the police are forced to drop the case and Mick is released. This becomes Charlie's dark secret that he tries to forget about. He avoids Mick throughout the rest of high school and plans on leaving it behind when he goes upstate to an ivy league university. Charlie comes back to Danny and his dorm room one night and to his horror, finds Mick there.

Mick says he will just be there for a few days, but is so taken with college life that he begins to get attached. He quickly swoops in on the girl Charlie likes, Mary, played by Eva Amurri, who is also a senator's daughter. Mick makes the point that Mary is out of both of their leagues but this doesn't stop his flirting and eventual attainment of her affection. Mick begins sitting in on his classes and seems to always be around. There's a subtle tension between the two of them but after awhile, Charlie actually becomes fascinated with Mick in a way. Charlie begins to believe that he really has changed and Mick is tempted by college ambitions to turn his life around. When the inevitable truth behind Mick's visit comes out, all of the bonds Mick has formed could be broken for good.

Overall, the cast is quite remarkable, bringing to life very complex and multi-dimensional characters. Unfortunately, our lead man, Jesse Eisenberg, isn't included in this. He really doesn't do much acting in the film. He gives a one note performance, holding back the depth of his character. Eisenberg nails the intelligent and somewhat awkward student, but focuses on this too much. His character goes through fear, betrayal, and jealousy. Charlie is undermined and not appreciated. He deals with faulty relationships with questions of trust. There are also lighter emotions such as excitement and intrigue. We really don't see any of this from Eisenberg though. As our protagonist who takes throughout the story from beginning to end, the depiction of the depth of this character really should have been displayed with a wider range of emotions. Eisenberg was still enjoyable, he just didn't do what the role required of him.

Jason Ritter gives a profound and thoughtful performance as Mick. You go from hating him to feeling for him immensely to just seeing how troubled and trapped he really is. Ritter shows very closed off moments that he shields with his fist. He also has tremendous energy and just shines in some of his more youthful moments. Ritter exposes the depths of this very complicated character in an extremely compelling, honest, and personal way.

Eva Amurri also gave an incredible performance as Mary. Amurri made Mary very likable and nice on the outside, but exposed her games as well. Still, she didn't turn her in to a villain either. Mary is just so used to getting whatever she wants. She teases Charlie constantly, even when naked in the hot tub with him, seeming to come on to him only to hang all over Mick a minute later. She uses Charlie, but Amurri delivers this in a way that makes it seem that her character doesn't even necessarily know what she is doing. To an extent, she knows she is stringing him along, but she isn't meaning to be cruel. She is just used to getting the best of both worlds; intellectual and friendly conversations with Charlie and the challenge and thrill of being with the handsome bad boy, Mick. Amurri depicted her character, while walking that fine line between likeable and ruthless.

Chris Marquette didn't have quite as complex of a character, but he had great screen presence as Danny. He brought out a very loyal friend that had to come to terms with what his over trusting mind didn't want to believe.

"The Education of Charlie Banks" deals with issues of class a lot. Mary is rich and comes from a prestigious family, which is the reasoning for how she toys with these boys. She is able to do this because her superior class puts her above Charlie and Mick. They realize this and jump through hoops to try to outweigh their disadvantage. Another one of their friends just bought a $200,000 boat and has so many clothes to spare he gives Mick an entire wardrobe. This is part of what catches Mick's eye. The glamorization of an ivy league school. The type of people who are students gives him hope that he could be part of something he never would have dreamed of before. He is welcomed among this class, which is an acceptance that Mick is afraid to let go of for fear that it may never come back again. There's one scene where Mick and Charlie seem to bond when they look down on rich people and their seemingly innate ability to play crocket.

Mick and Charlie are different in countless ways. While Charlie had a loving family that stressed the importance of education and learning, Mick was in and out of foster homes as his behavior worsened with each one. They have the common ground of not truly fitting in to the rich, upper class that seem to keep both of them down.

"The Education of Charlie Banks" covers very powerful themes and explores its character subjects in great depth. It doesn't go quite as far it could though with what it presents. The biggest issue is "The Education of Charlie Banks" feels more like "The Education of Mick" as it is much more a film about his character's realizations. There really isn't enough covered on Charlie. Aside from the character's intelligence, not much of his character is really shown to the audience. More of the film is his reactions to Mick and Mary. He remains as loyal to Mary as ever in the end and doesn't even acknowledge to himself what he really is to her.

There are so many strong discoveries in the film through other characters though that it helps distract from this. There are strong messages present of an inability to see the bad in those you care for, ones' past defining their future, and not being able to change who you are. The Education of Charlie Banks is a reminiscent coming of age story that is both personal and intriguing.