Bad Education  ★★★

HUGH Jackman has been getting rave reviews for his latest role in Bad Education.

While he is good in the lead – one of his best along with Prisoners, Wolverine and The Greatest Showman – the film overall is problematic.

It’s billed as a comedy/drama but I found almost nothing to laugh at and suspect the film’s makers would also object to the categorisation.

But, more importantly, Mike Makowsky’s screenplay, based on a New York Magazine article by Robert Kolker, fails to truly get under the skin of the main protagonist and consequently the audience remains distant from the proceedings, unable to feel strongly either way.

Jackman plays Dr Robert Tassone, the real-life Superintendent of New York’s Roslyn School District. It is 2002 and the school is riding high on scholastic achievements and community awareness, courtesy of the efforts of the much-loved and respected Tassone.

In turn, the charismatic Tassone treats colleagues, students, friends and family with great empathy and concern. But the audience knows there is something amiss, even though it remains unclear for most of the film.

One of his key managerial staff, played well by Alison Janney, is also crusing through life until discrepancies start to emerge with her expenses. Suddenly a major fraud is uncovered and the school board, led by President Bob Spicer (Ray Romano) is called in to help Tassone deal with the looming public crisis.

Ultimately this becomes the tip of the iceberg in what becomes the largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history.

The film ultimately hinges on the central character’s depiction and Jackman well and truly fulfills his end of the bargain with a clever and nuanced performance that suggests much more lying beneath the surface.

But, on the reverse side, the script doesn’t enable him to get fully explore the deeper aspects that are only hinted at.

In fairness to the writers, perhaps this is because these aspects of Tassone’s character have not emerged on the public record.

Personally, I doubt that in this day and age. Even then, some dramatic licence would not have gone astray in making Bad Education more engaging.