Education

Education is a romantic drama film directed by J.A. Boyona and written by my friend Warren Byrne.

Plot:

On his first day in elementary school, Harry Douglas meets Thomas Phillips, a shy, nerdy & awkward kid. Thomas then exits the classroom to look for the History class he was supposed to be put into as he was in the wrong class. After class, Thomas & Harry become friends, all the way through their college years.

Many years later, Thomas & Harry have both been qualified as teachers and their both teaching at their old secondary school. They meet Principal MacCallan, who shows them both to their new classrooms. Thomas teaches History & Harry teaches French.

Later, Thomas is struggling to teach his class. He then meets up with Harry and they discuss their love lifes. Later on, Thomas meets Alan Keane, another teacher who tells him that Thomas's childhood crush Katie McGrath and her friends Joanna Dickens & Alexis Mason have all been accepted to teach in the school.

Over the next few weeks, Thomas has been settling into his new job as a teacher and all the teachers & students like him. Thomas has also developed a friendship with Alan and he is reunited with Katie, Joanna & Alexis. Harry then introduces Thomas to his girlfriend Shannon, a fellow teacher and Thomas becomes shy and nervous.

When Thomas goes home, he is greeted by his mother Sonya, an elderly woman who is secretly battling terminal cancer. He then tells her about his day. He then decides to spend the night in her house. Later that night, Harry & Shannon move into an apartment together and they share a romantic moment together.

The next day, Harry tells Thomas about his relationship with Shannon and Thomas tells him that Katie, Joanna & Alexis are all working in the school.

Later on, while Thomas is teaching his class, he gets a call from the hospital and it's about Sonya. Thomas speeds down from the school to the hospital. Sonya tells Thomas that she has cancer & they share an emotional moment together.

When Thomas returns to the school, he tells Harry what happened. Thomas then sees MacCallan, who's annoyed that Thomas left the school without telling anyone. MacCallan then explains to Thomas that family is more important in life. The next day, Thomas gets a call from the hospital to say that Sonya has died. He rushes to the hospital and shares a final moment with his mother. Over the next few weeks, Thomas becomes depressed. He nearly hits a student with his car, assaulted another teacher, drinks alcohol after school hours and nearly attempts suicide. Harry convinces him that he needs therapy. A few weeks later, Thomas is feeling better and he apologises to Harry for his behavior and the 2 friends reconcile. Thomas, who is now finally in a relationship with Katie, talks to Joanna, who is also his therapist about his experiences as a teacher. Thomas & Katie then walk out of the school together with Harry, Shannon, Joanna, Alexis, Alan & MacCallan beaming at them.

Cast:

Channing Tatum as Thomas Phillips

Benedict Cumberbatch as Harry Douglas

Rachel McAdams as Katie McGrath

Keira Knightley as Shannon

Gal Gadot as Joanna Dickens

Zoe Saldana as Alexis Mason

Demian Bichir as Alan Keane

Meryl Streep as Principal MacCallan

Sally Field as Sonja Phillips

Reception:

Education received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success.