Bad Education // Film review

There are spoilers of the film, it's based on a real event. Don't you want to know anything about the story and what happened? Don't read the post and come back after watching the film.

The superintendent of the Roslyn school district on Long Island, is the epitome of success. During his tenure the public school became one of the best in the northern country. To be a student there was to ensure a chance to get into a prestigious university.

Always in his tailored suit, attentive to detail, a dieter, he liked to look good. On his desk is a photograph of his late wife, who died a long time ago. He socializes with all the parents, runs a book club for them. He likes to meet with students, chat, motivate them, help them.

His name is Frank Tassone, a man of impeccable reputation. Admired by most people who know him. The excellent school administrator who raised the prestige of the school district, making the properties more expensive, to the joy of the inhabitants and taxpayers of the area.

But some secrets came to light...

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The HBO film tells of one of what many consider to be the greatest fraud perpetrated in a U.S. public school. If you saw the misappropriation of funds in the Latin American school system, this would look like a snack! The upright Frank Tassone, an example to many and a great success in school administration, stole from the fund more than 11 million dollars, to pay for his lifestyle: expensive suits, surgeries, diets, luxurious meals, first class laundry, trips with a young lover and a luxury apartment that he shared with his partner for more than ten years. Because being a widower was also a lie. He was never married and you don't know who the woman in the photo on his desk was.

How was that possible?
Human nature is strange. No one can deny that Tassone is an excellent worker. The successes of the school district were due to his management. Part of the community still appreciates him. It would be unfair to deny his accomplishments. The money, the dirty money always in the way. It corrupts even the most honest. Manage the funds (they were greater every year) and use them to buy a dinner, then another, then a gift for the couple, they accumulate, until you buy a house, a car and you give yourself the big life. Who would not fall into that temptation?

How was the fraud discovered?
By an idiot! Pamela Gluckin's son, made the mistake to get the big con out in the open. By making a few purchases of materials and tools at the department store, which he paid for with one of the school administration's credit cards.

The board of trustees was shocked. Tassone convinced them to fix everything internally. Forcing her to resign and committing to returning the approximately two hundred thousand dollars that had been embezzled. What the board members did not know was that the amount Gluckin had stolen was over two million dollars.

The story about Gluckin's resignation caused several media outlets to investigate the reasons, leading them to discover that she was not alone. The superintendent, impeccable and correct, stole over 11 million dollars.

And exploited the scandal...

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The cast is Hugh Jackman, playing Tassone. Good job! Charm and cynicism in a perfectly crafted acting job. Joining him, Allison Janney as Pamela Gluckin, Tassone's other managing superintendent and accomplice. They both look perfect in recreating that friendship/complicity. The third actor to shine is Ray Romano, an effective supporting actor. He is choosing his roles very well, both in series and movies. The character he plays in Bad Education didn't exist in real life, but he can be a sum of different people. All of them, under the direction of Cory Finley, deliver an enjoyable film.

The script is written by Mike Makowsky, a student at the school during the time the story is being developed. He met Tassone. Some characters were renamed, such as Pamela Gluckin's niece, a secretary at the school who was arrested for using the card for personal purchases. Tassone's young lover is also identified by another name and that of the stable couple.

What happened to those involved?
Google what happened to the main people involved in the fraud. We will find that Frank Tassone, sentenced to 12 years in prison, was released in 2010 for good behaviour. He still lives in New York and receives a pension. But the court banned him from any job where he has to manage money. Pamela Gluckin was released in 2011, having been sentenced to between four and nine years in prison. She also receives a pension, allegedly contributing half to the school, to replace what she stole. It will take her the rest of her life to cover the amount.