The Education of Charlie Banks 2009

When the bustling streets of 1970s New York served as a backdrop for ambition and chaos, a young man found himself at a moral crossroads. Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg), a socially aware upper west-sider at just 16, is thrust into turmoil after witnessing the sociopathic behavior of Mick Leary (Jason Ritter), an older friend of his best buddy. That fateful night at a high school party, Charlie is taken aback as Mick brutally assaults two unsuspecting suburban jocks. Troubled by the event, he chooses to confide in his parents before reporting Mick to the authorities—a decision that will haunt him for years to come.

Fast forward three years into Charlie’s freshman year of college, and fate intertwines their paths once more when Mick pays an unexpected visit. Charlie grapples with the unsettling question: Does Mick know that he was the one who turned him in? As Mick’s stay extends beyond the weekend, their dynamic shifts into an intense game of cat-and-mouse. One moment, Mick appears charming and good-natured; the next, he harbors threats that keep Charlie on edge.

While Mick adopts a persona of sophistication in borrowed cashmere and immerses himself in Charlie’s academic world, the lines between predator and prey begin to blur. As they explore the boundaries of their relationship, Charlie can’t help but question whether the enlightenment of higher learning can lead to the redemption of someone as morally fractured as Mick. This riveting tension unravels throughout Charlie’s struggle to reconcile empathy and self-preservation in a city that was once the epitome of grit and allure.