Written by: Mike Makowsky
Directed by: Cory Finley
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
The beloved superintendent of New York's Roslyn school district and his staff, friends, and relatives become the prime suspects in the single largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history.
Verdict
It's a wild story and all the more because it's true. The movie does a great job of setting this up with all the details that look completely different after it unfolds. Jackman does great in the role. He's charismatic, and he seems like a principal which is surprising as he's also played Wolverine. The movie is bewildering. How do crimes like this happen? Because no one suspects it.
Watch it.
Review
The crazy thing is, Jackman doesn't look like Wolverine here. I believe he's a school superintendent. Jackman and Janney both do a great job as Frank and and Pam. Frank really pus the work in, dedicated to the job and very likable. You see the small things he does to position himself to succeed by knowing everyone's name and something about them. He's charismatic because he cares, but the movie also plants seeds of doubt.
Frank wonders how much a school board member makes. As this begins to unfold it seems the principal was behind this. She was using school charge cards to finance a home remodel and she drives a Corvette. How much did Frank know, if anything? It seems like Pam is the culprit, but if so why does she think Frank will fix it? We're not sure if she's self important or the crime is larger than appears.
This is a classic scheme. When the person in control is doing something wrong, people let it happen or refuse to voice concerns due to self preservation and gain. No one wants to rock the boat when things are going well, but in this case things were going too well.
Part of why Frank was so charismatic is that it was a job to him. He honed a skill of knowing about people and seeming to care. Once you get to the end of the movie everything around him has a different meaning, slightly nefarious.
I love how this started. It always starts small, by accident. Once you pop the seal, it goes too far. One of the defenses is that the school board made a lot of money on the school district, through real estate, banking, and business. The people making the school great didn't see that profit, but that doesn't justify what they did, just the inequality of the system. You have to love the criminal justice system. The person that stole twice as much gets less time due to testifying against others.
The story is absolute wild. How does a school system not miss millions of dollars? It's helps that this was an affluent district. The community had to wonder about wealth on display. People in the school system don't usually drive nice cars and have multiple houses, but when those people are also making the school one of the best in the country, it's easier to let things slide.
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