The Education of Allison Tate

Movies like this one remind me why I enjoy watching movies in the first place. The acting is poor in parts, but sufficient throughout, the soundtrack is really cheesy, but not more than anything else from the 80's, and I watched an old VHS copy so the film looked terrible. 'The Education of Allison Tate', however, was a movie about something. Paul Leder had a message and he wanted it out. This film was not about commercial success or the Hollywood dream, rather an opportunity for Leder to get his message out on a medium that the public might enjoy. Kind of like Sesame Street, the viewer gets a chance to learn while they watch. A one sentence summary is a group of Native American activists kidnap the daughter of the man who is single-handedly taking all their land. Seeing the passion in her captors, Allison Tate (Leslie Hope) slowly comes around to their way of thinking. The first recognizable role for Catherine Keener, who seems to attract herself to important films. Despite its aforementioned flaws, this is an important film, and one that should be viewed. Rating: 25/40