The MisEducation of Bindu
**Seen at the 2020 Atlanta Film Festival
Bindu experiences four years worth of highs and lows in a single day in “The MisEducation of Bindu,” and it is hard to imagine a more thoughtful and heartfelt look at that time in a young person’s life. There have been plenty of great films on the subject, but Prarthana Mohan’s film just goes straight to the pain and anxiety her main character is experiencing, and it is a beautiful tribute to the ability of individuals to find a way through even the hardest times. It might be one of my favorite films set in high school ever.
The film begins with 15-year-old Bindu (Megan Suri) in her room one night, watching a movie when she feels some vibrations coming from the next room over. It is her mother Kasturi (Priyanka Bose) and Bill (David Arquette) doing, well, you know, and she turns the TV back up and tried to block out the noise. It’s a microcosm of how her life is going right now. Bindu was being homeschooled until Bill came into the picture; after he and Kasturi got married, Bill suggested Bindu get enrolled in high school. Needless to say, it is not going well, and Bindu is hoping to be able to test out of high school. She has one more test to take, for Spanish, but her mother wants her to stick it out. When she opens her locker- which has the words “whore,” “dyke,” and others on it- to find shaving cream in it, her mind is made up. The problem? There’s a fee of $57 to take the test. Her mother unavailable, Bindu must now rely on the classmates she’s trying to get away from to get out of school.
The screenplay by Mohan and Kay Tuxford is beautifully structured to fill in a lot of quintessential high school experiences, along with some unconventional ones, into a brisk, but complete, 92-minute comedy experience. The bullying Bindu finds herself subjected to is painful for us to experience- and Bill trying to tell her what her tormentors really mean only adds painful fuel to the fire- and sometimes, her well-meaning friends (Rob, played by Jake Morrissy, and Peter, played by Philip Labes) aren’t always a lot of help. The film is almost entirely from Bindu’s perspective, and the performance by Suri is one of the best of the year. She is an engaging presence, capable of anything Mohan asks of her (including a brief little Bollywood montage), and completely empathetic as an actor; few performances this year have made me feel more than her does in this film. The comedy is genuine and sweet, the tension is painful, the bullying is heartbreaking, and the way it all comes together is one of the most satisfying experiences of the year. This is a movie ready to be discovered, and beloved.
