‘Ashby’: Assassin Mentors High School Nerd

A fatherless, high school boy moves next door to an ex-assassin. Bingo! We predicted and explained the connection between boys who lack guidance and assassins, in the article “Why We Like Movies about Reformed Assassins so Much,” and now they’ve gone and made a movie about that very thing.
Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
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One of this reviewer’s favorite topics lately is the cultural phenomena of how the boyhood-to-manhood rite of passage has gone missing from modern, “civilized” society.

Another favorite topic is the reason so many movies are being made about assassins and ex-assassins.

Imagine my delight upon learning the premise of “Ashby”: a fatherless, high school boy moves next door to an ex-assassin. Bingo! We predicted and explained the connection between boys who lack guidance, and assassins, in the article “Why We Like Movies About Reformed Assassins so Much,” and now they’ve gone and made a movie about that very thing.

Would that this perfect premise had been able to deliver a well-told tale of a boy becoming a man before our popcorn-stuffed faces, but it was not to be. In the way an artist does a “study” (a sketch for a painting concept), “Ashby” is a study for the engrossing, coming-of-age movie that could have been.

Geek Establishment

“You’re a bunch of Ritalin-addicted porn freaks,” says the high school English literature teacher to his class, more matter-of-factly than disapprovingly. Then he asks new-kid Ed Wallis (Nat Wolff), what he knows about Hemingway. Ed knows a lot. Which instantly lands him in the nerd box.

Nat Wolff as high school geek/football star wannabe Ed Wallis in "Ashby." (Peter Taylor/Paramount Pictures)
Nat Wolff as high school geek/football star wannabe Ed Wallis in "Ashby." Peter Taylor/Paramount Pictures
Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
Mark Jackson is the chief film critic for The Epoch Times. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Williams College, followed by a classical theater conservatory training, and 20 years' experience as a New York professional actor. He narrated The Epoch Times audiobook "How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World," available on iTunes, Audible, and YouTube. Mark is listed in the book "How to be a Film Critic in Five Easy Lessons" by Christopher K. Brooks. In addition to film, he enjoys Harley-Davidsons, martial arts, rock-climbing, qigong, and human rights activism. Mark is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
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