The Education of Charlie Banks
The Education of Charlie Banks is a 2007 drama film directed by Fred Durst, produced by Straight Up Film's Marisa Polvino and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Gloria Votsis, and Chris Marquette. It had its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Made in NY Narrative Award given to the best narrative film made in New York City. It is Durst's film directing debut.
The Education of Charlie Banks | |
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Promotional film poster | |
Directed by | Fred Durst |
Produced by | Marisa Polvino Peter Elkoff |
Written by | Peter Elkoff |
Starring | Jesse Eisenberg Jason Ritter Eva Amurri Gloria Votsis Chris Marquette |
Music by | John Swihart |
Cinematography | Alex Nepomniaschy |
Edited by | Eric L. Beason |
Distributed by | Anchor Bay Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million |
Box office | $15,078 |
Plot
As a kid, Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) both admired and feared the charismatic and violent local tough Mick Leary (Jason Ritter); in high school, Charlie witnesses Mick beat up two jocks at a party, leaving the two victims near death. Despite Mick being the buddy of his best friend, Danny (Chris Marquette), Charlie reports Mick to the police.
Three years later, Charlie and Danny are college freshmen who are in for a surprise when Mick shows up for a visit. Though claiming to be visiting for the weekend, Mick moves into the two friends' dorm and begins borrowing their clothing, attending their classes, reading their books, and flirting with a woman (Eva Amurri) on whom Charlie has a crush. Charlie begins to wonder if Mick has changed or if he is plotting a fiendish revenge against Charlie for turning him in to the police.
Cast
- Jesse Eisenberg as Charlie Banks
- Jason Ritter as Mick Leary
- Eva Amurri as Mary
- Gloria Votsis as Nia
- Chris Marquette as Danny Bowman
- Sebastian Stan as Leo Reilly
- Dennis Boutsikaris as Mr. Banks
- Charles Parnell as Assistant District Attorney Worsheck
- Josh Richman as Professor Gersten
- Steven Hinkle as Young Charlie Banks
- Miles Chandler as Young Mick Leary
- Cain Kerner as Young Danny
- Sam Daly as Owen
Release
The film premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best New York Narrative.[1] It received a limited release in North America on March 27, 2009, before being released on DVD three months later on June 30, 2009.[2]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 48% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 5.22/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Unevenness and earnestness mire this otherwise sweet, surprising coming of age drama."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[4]
References
- "Tribeca Film Festival Awards History" (PDF). Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- "The Education of Charlie Banks". Moviefone. AOL Inc. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- "The Education of Charlie Banks (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- "The Education of Charlie Banks Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.