The Education of Charlie Banks

First of all, I love high school/college setting, dysfunctional family and coming of age drama. Despite having the elements in this film, it was missing lot of chemistry between the actors, the time period didn't fit the screen, wasn't really impressed by the lens/filter or the cinematography. It would be amazing if Gus Van wrote/directed this film.

Nevertheless, I do have to praise Fred Durst for evolving. He has come long way from directing music videos to the big screen. He displayed so much maturity through music choices in this film and long drone camera staring into the characters. Also, to get a dramatic gig like this film and to bring forth so much emotion off the characters/story was just good for Fred. He really tried to capture the mentality of teenagers/young adult. it was very good first choice for Fred Durst. I am very much impressed by his first attempt. (o yes I love the guy, he was so humble and awesome guy when I met him at TRL in 2003)

The Education of Charlie Banks was an excellent film. This independent film surfaces from a sea of mundane dramas. With elements of revenge between Charlie and his childhood bully which reminded me of the 1991 remake of Cape Fear and elements of admiration and chivalry the film is very dynamic. The time line and set are also very interesting to me, the film starts in the mid seventies and jumps into the mid eighties, with all of the hair styles, clothing and props that bring you back to those time periods. With surprise twists and smart dialog, it kept me interested and curious. The climax of The Education of Charlie Banks satisfies the viewer in a way it answers questions of character and of lessons learned. A must see for drama fans. ~NikkoD

I guess some folks who were young during the Reagan Era got a little nostalgic flashback when seeing The Education Of Charlie Banks. It's a perfect brat pack movie, even being set during the Eighties. And some of today's younger players looked pretty good in Eighties fashions.

Jason Ritter is the one who educates young Charlie Banks who is played by Jesse Eisenberg. If this were made in 1987 their roles would have been played by Rob Lowe and James Spader respectively. In fact the film has some similarity to a film they did co-star in back in the day called Bad Influence.

Eisenberg is this nerdy rich kid who has been fascinated by tough kid Ritter since childhood. At one point he called the police on Ritter after at a party Ritter beat up and left two others badly injured, but later recanted and Ritter was set free.

Years later while at college Ritter comes to visit, ostensibly to visit Eisenberg's roommate Chris Marquette who also knew Eisenberg back in the day. He insinuates himself into college life, maybe a little too much.

Jason Ritter does a fine job in displaying both charisma and tension at the same time. We know what a violent individual he is, we can never know what little thing might set him off. And does he know exactly what Eisenberg almost did to him years ago?

Sebastian Stan is also in the cast playing what back in the day would be called a wastrel. Here he's just a rich kid floating through the halls of higher learning, just training to be a wastrel. I've met a few like that before and after and Stan's portrayal rings true. I did kind of like what Ritter did to him.

The Education Of Charlie Banks takes you back to 1985 to what some call the good old days.

This is a touching story filled with breakout performances. Jason Ritter hit it out of the park and so did Jesse Eisenberg. Most of the film is set in the 80s, and the style of cinematography brings you right into the East Village 25 years ago. Nearly every character was captivating, including Ritter, Eisenberg and hilarious Sebastian Stan. The plot is rich...even the music was first class. If I had to say one bad thing about the film I would have a hard time. I caught it in NY on Saturday night and anyone who has seen it knows that these films are few and far between. The audience applauded well into the credits. I am bringing my girlfriend back to see it tomorrow or Wednesday.

A terrific film. The director managed to capture the innocence of the seventies. I was glad he didn't use JUST 70's movies because there was a great piece of music that opened and closed the movie. I think it was called "The Sad Song." It was a nice balance to the 70's music and prevented the film from becoming a movie about old music. Very well cast as well. All the actors were wonderful. I am usually bored by coming of age movies, but this had a lot of surprises, and I think it was because the director was really feeling with his characters. The opening and ending section with the small kids was also very moving. I understand this is Fred Durst's first film. It's a great first film and is also very smoothly and seamlessly edited. Will this film be distributed? I saw it at the Tribeca Film Festival and wondered if and when it was opening anywhere else.