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A young girl seduced by an older man may be a common story, but An Education is no common movie. As Jenny, a precocious middle-class British schoolgirl charmed by a small-time criminal, newcomer Carey Mulligan is luminous; her face can be plain and beautiful at the same time, her eyes expressing a restless intelligence and a hungry soul. As David, the seducer, Peter Sarsgaard (Year of the Dog, Garden State) gives yet another rich, thoughtful performance. The script, adapted by Nick Hornby (whose novels High Fidelity and About a Boy have been made into movies), is full of unexpected details that bring every moment to life. Director Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners) has made sure that every character is vivid and real; even seemingly minor moments have texture and vitality. The supporting cast--including Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Cara Seymour (Adaptation), Dominic Cooper (The History Boys), and Olivia Williams (Rushmore)--is simply impeccable. In a small but memorable part, Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day) shows an unexpected (and marvelous) comic side. In short, An Education is a funny, smart, and compassionate movie that will launch a great career for Mulligan and be a jewel on the filmographies of everyone involved. See this movie. --Bret Fetzer
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Somethings you must learn out of the classroom.,
By
This review is from: An Education [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Based on a memoir by British Journalist Lynn Barber, An Education is the coming of age story of a sixteen year old school girl Jenny who has an affair with a much older man. It is the early 1960s London on the cusp of the swinging sixties and percocious straight A student, Jenny is working hard in preparation for the exams which her parents hope will earn her admission to Oxford. For Jenny, Oxford will mean liberation and the pursuit of a more sophisticated life far from a dull one in the London suburbs. One day while waiting for a bus in the rain a stranger offers her a ride home. This charmer is named David Goldman and he carefully courts her by introducing her to the adult life she yearns for. He also charms her parents, convincing them that it would safe to take their daughter away for weekends and of course to Paris -- after all his aunt will chaperone. Of course there is no real aunt and the so called Aunt Helen is the dipsy girlfriend of his partner in shady business dealings. It seems that the carefree life that David lives is funded by real estate fraud and theft. Jenny turns a blind eye, becomes engaged to him, give up on her dreams of Oxford. Her naive parents agree -- after all Jenny won't need an education if she is married to a nice man? Her teachers are worried that Jenny is throwing all her chances away. When Jenny realized the depth of David's dishonesty, she grows wise and realizes that you cannot take shortcuts in life. Carey Mulligan's performce is complex -- a girl who is intellgent and mature and yet she is still a girl, not as sophisticated as she pretends, a little naive but is nevertheless pert in her sixties fashions. Mulligan recalls a young Audrey Hepburn. Rosamund Pike shines as the impossibly beautiful but dim Helen. Olive Williams is almost unrecognizable under her horn rimmed glasses as one of Jenny's intellegent teachers. An Education is a story about the possibilities of Jenny's life. She learns from what she goes through and gains wisedom which as Lynn Barber later observed in her memoirs, was her real education.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I feel old. But not very wise.",
By
This review is from: An Education (DVD)
The year is 1962, and sixteen-year old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a cello-playing student who hopes to attend Oxford. A chance meeting with a charming man twice her age quickly develops into a romance, opening up an exciting, glamorous world to the young girl.This is a coming-of-age story with a wonderful script and a stellar cast. Young Carey Mulligan is pretty, funny, sensitive, and gutsy and has loads of charisma. She didn't look quite young enough but was still delightful. Peter Sarsaard plays the older man who sweeps her (and her family) of her feet. He's absolutely convincing as the worldly lecher who pursues Jenny. He gave me the creeps and I couldn't understand why her family welcomed him with such open arms. It was nice to see Emma Thompson in a small but meaty role as Jenny's headmistress. Although it has disturbing moments, I enjoyed the movie very much and I think Miss Mulligan is destined for many great film roles in the future.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle performances, rich imagery, and an intriguing coming-of-age story,
By Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: An Education (DVD)
An intelligent and ambitious young student meets a charming older man, who sweeps her off her feet with his lavish lifestyle, and very quickly threatens to jeopardize her dreams of studying at Oxford.Carey Mulligan gives an admirably nuanced performance as the precocious 16-year-old Jenny, whose desire to escape her middle-class upbringing makes her ripe for seduction by the apparently world wise and street smart David, played intelligently by Peter Sarsgaard, who manages somehow to make him sympathetic in spite of his sleaziness. The film aims to depict a situation, a period in a young woman's life, without moralizing and without making anyone into either victim or villain, and does so brilliantly. It is a rich and intriguing film, that brings the Britain of the 1960's to life. Director Lone Sherfig (who directed the darkly comic Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself) as well as the playful Dogme 95 film Italian for Beginners) manages to capture quite nicely the period, and the subtleties of language and attitude that mark class distinctions of the period. At the same time, while certain attitudes depicted in the film mark it as past, the issues it raises and the freshness of their delivery make the film seem quite contemporary. (On that note, I couldn't help but consider for a moment that Carey Mulligan's Jenny is much like a more refined and elegant version of the spunky and sarcastic Juno as played by Ellen Page). Recommended.
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