I've seen him play other roles of being the authoritarian, but he shines in this movie as an unlikable character. The scenes in the Dean's office with Logan Lerman were like watching a great stage play performance. I'm so surprised to see that he was born in 1965. He has a bearing that makes him appear to be much older. (It's odd for me to think that I was in high school the year he was born...I find him intimidating.)
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i didn't have an impression that he is an unlikable character. when tension was building up during that long conversation in his office, i was in limbo about whether he is a good or bad guy but leaning towards good (just happens to have conservative values), but by the time we found out that he was not going to expel the main character after that conversation, he was immediately a good guy.
shareHe was narrow-minded, judgmental, and authoritarian; but I felt he conveyed sincerity in trying to helpMarcus get the most out of his college experience. He clearly did not understand Marcus, like the hesitation to go out for the baseball team. Marcus knew he wasn’t talented enough to make the team, but the Dean did not understand the reluctance to give it “the old college try”, so to speak.
I felt the scenes in the Dean’s office, particularly the first one, were some of the most powerful and well acted that I have ever seen. I agree that Letts has always been good in the things I have seen him in, but he killed it in this. And Lerman was fantastic - the first role I had seen him in and it was unforgettable.