Reviewed by Fr. Peter Malone, MSC
US, 2020, 108 minutes, Colour.
Hugh Jackman, Alison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ray Romano, Annaleigh Ashford, Stephen Spinella, Raphael Casal, Alex Wolfe.
Directed by Corey Finley.
Decades ago, Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko on Wall Street gave a speech affirming that “greed is good”. Here is a true story, from an affluent community on Long Island at the beginning of the2000s, where public figures in education not only gave the thumbs up to Gordon Gecko’s theory but, extravagantly, put it into practice.
This is also a showcase for the acting talents of Hugh Jackman. He brings his extraordinary charm to the role of Frank Tassone, a local superintendent of schools, beloved by his community, applauded by everyone, ambitious to develop the prestige of the school where he is based, the status of the local community, the property values of homes in the area.
He is supported in his work by the local school principal, played by Ray Romano, and his associate in the office and in the ambitions, played by Alison Janney. But, it is all a facade. The building begins to crumble when the associate, competent in managing accounts, competent in fabricating accounts, is exposed to the horror of the school board, a compromise being found for her dismissal in that she has resigned for health reasons. She is not supported by Tassone as she had expected – and leaves him a dire note, responding to her being branded as a sociopath, accusing him of being a greater sociopath.
And, she is not wrong. In fact, the film could be viewed as the portrait of a narcissist, a sociopath, full of charm concerning his own well-being and success, conscienceless in his exploitation. Frank Tassone a looks in the mirror quite often, sees wrinkles of ageing, undergoes some plastic surgery, but always smiling, no matter what.
His facade takes a lot longer to crumble. He is an arch manipulator, pressurising the school accountant to interpret the books in his favour. And, there is the greater revelation about his private life, his assertion that his wife is long dead, the discovery that has been living with a partner for over 30 years, that has been come infatuated with a young dancer in Las Vegas.
Audiences will be somewhat aghast at his self-indulgence, $20,000 spent on a first-class return flight to London with the dancer, the amount of money he has fraudulently covered, he and his assistant embezzling millions of dollars from the community.
While the attention is on Frank Tassone, the interesting character who leads to his unmasking is a young student at the school, studying journalism, working on the student paper, doing some investigative work (and, when interviewed by Frank, his urging her not just a write puff pieces). She does her research with documents, discovers Frank’s apartment and his partner, is instrumental in his unmasking. She is played convincingly by Australian actress, Geraldine Viswanathan.
This is a moral fable, a warning that while greed has its many moments of good, it is intrinsically evil and leads to downfall.
See Also Plot, Production (wikipedia)
Questions for movie discussions
Worth Pondering... 