The Education of Charlie Banks Synopsis & Summary

A young man is faced with a dilemma when a threatening figure from his past returns in this drama, the directorial debut from Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) and his best friend, Danny (Chris Marquette), grew up in a rough section of New York, where they both knew Mick (Jason Ritter), a kid whose was much admired for his cool and equally feared for his talent for violence. When Mick got into a fight that left two teens nearly dead, Charlie was a witness, and when he was approached by the police, Charlie told them what he saw, though he later refused to testify against Mick in court for fear of his own safety. Several years later, Charlie and Danny have left the old neighborhood behind and are students at a prestigious private university when Mick pays them an unexpected visit. Charlie has no idea if Mick knows that he informed on him to the police, and is afraid to find out, but in the meantime, Mick aggressively reintroduces himself into Charlie and Danny's lives. As Mick starts dressing like a wealthy college boy, reading F. Scott Fitzgerald, and dating a girl Charlie has a crush on, he seems to be transforming himself into someone who can be all Charlie is and more, but in time Mick learns he can't completely turn his back on his past. The Education of Charlie Banks had its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. - Mark Deming, All Movie Guide