The Education of Charlie Banks (2007)

College student Charlie Banks has to face old problems when the bully he had an unpleasant encounter with back in high school shows up on his campus.

Director:

Fred Durst

Writer:

Peter Elkoff

Stars:

Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri Martino

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Charlie
Jason Ritter	...	Mick
Chris Marquette	...	Danny
Eva Amurri Martino	...	Mary (as Eva Amurri)
Sebastian Stan	...	Leo
Gloria Votsis	...	Nia
Alex Guarino	...	Buzzy Tim
Danny A. Abeckaser	...	Arresting Officer
Jason Anthony	...	Basketball Player
Declan Baldwin	...	Detective Lazaroff
Emily Camara Boisseau	...	Girl In Danny's Class (as Emily Boisseau)
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Mr. Banks
Miles Chandler	...	Young Mick
Jessica Conlan	...	Sarah (as Jessica Conlon)
Sam Daly	...	Owen

Storyline

The Education of Charlie Banks is a coming of age tale that spans from the playgrounds of lower Manhattan to the idyllic greens of a fictional liberal arts college in upstate New York. Set during the eighties, it is a story about change, inevitability, and ultimately, about facing one's fears.

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Plot Keywords:

low budget film | college | campus | student | college student | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, sexual content, and drug and alcohol use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Educação de Charlie Banks

Filming Locations:

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,538, 29 March 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,547, 5 April 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charlie Banks, Myriad Pictures, Straight Up Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

After Charlie finds out that Mick beat up Leo, he goes to search for Mary. When she doesn't answer her dorm room door, we see him run into a white building. The camera dollies in towards the entrance and at the bottom of the frame you can clearly see the dolly track laid out.

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Quotes

Charlie: Every kid grows up with a boogeyman under his bed. Mine terrorized Greenwich Village and smoked Newports.

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Connections

References Raging Bull (1980)

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Soundtracks

Love Song
Written by Lesley Duncan
Performed by Lesley Duncan

User Reviews

a little wonky but still good

It's the early 70s NYC. A 10 year old Charlie Banks admires from afar the neighborhood tough kid Mick Leary. Later as teenager, Charlie (Jesse Eisenberg) is introduced to Mick (Jason Ritter) by Danny Bowman (Chris Marquette) at a party. Mick savagely beats up two jocks and Charlie gives him up to the police for attempted murder. Charlie recants and the police has to release Mick. Years later, Charlie and Danny are roommates in college chasing girls like Mary (Eva Amurri) and Nia (Gloria Votsis). Then Mick shows up to crash in their room. He injects himself into all aspects of Charlie's life. Charlie starts to wonder if Mick knows that he was the one who turned him in.

The writing is a little bit wonky and the directing from Fred Durst is unimaginative. Eisenberg is good as his usual nervous weakling character. Ritter is ill-fitting as the vicious explosive Mick. I really don't understand where that character is suppose to be but Ritter is not nearly tough enough. I don't blame him for stretching but he's not right for the role. Overall, it's an uneven but otherwise interesting coming-of-age movie.