AN EDUCATION
Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard
Directed by Lone Scherfig
Almost A Great Film
Have you ever seen a movie that delights you to the core, a film that lifts you up and plants you down inside the world it creates, carrying you along with ease, promising a perfect ride. A movie where everything – the characters and dialogue and plot, the design of the production right down to the clothes and sets and cars – all seem pitch perfect. And then . . . a moment arrives. The protagonist, the lead, faces a dilemma. A moral choice. You think you know the character, you can judge how they’ll react, but the decision they make surprises you, seems untrue to who they are, jarring you from your reverie.
Such a film is An Education. A film that begins greatly and ends likewise, but remains burdened by such a moment in the middle. Jenny, a smart schoolgirl, nearly 17, widely read, working towards Oxford, is pulled away from her life’s course by a charming, cultured, easygoing man of about 30. It’s London, 1961, and he seduces both her and her parents, leading the girl into a whirlwind romance and opening her eyes to the possibility of a different and exciting life.
Things are going swimmingly, or so she thinks, but after several weeks of fun and exploration (both sexual and geographical), she discovers the truth. Her boyfriend is not a cultured and respectable climber with a dash of fun, but a common thief who enters homes for sale, looking for old ladies or distracted owners, so he and his partner can spirit away objets d’art underneath a trench coat. He’s a man who befriends oppressed minorities and moves them into buildings where the tenants think them undesirable, hoping to drive them out so he can buy the place for a song.
When Jenny, played brilliantly by Carey Mulligan, discovers the truth about her David (Peter Sarsgaard), she asks to be taken home, the reaction of any respectable girl, and true to her character. She is innocent but grounded, open to new experience but smart and levelheaded. But then the rub. For some reason she lets her sweet talking beau change her mind, and remains part of the gang. She doesn’t take part in the shenanigans, but staying put and silent she becomes an accomplice all the same. And this is where the movie stumbles. The girl I thought I knew, who captivated me on screen with her intelligence and spirit, has fallen from grace.
It’s a testament to the film that my disappointment fades over time as the actors soar and the story evolves. Later, when Jenny discovers truths more difficult than common theft and questionable commerce, the conflict heightens. There are wonderful supporting performances along the way, like Olivia Williams as Jenny’s English teacher, Miss Stubbs, who lives alone and tries to guide her wayward student. We can imagine her as Jenny once, young and buoyant, smart as a whip, seduced by life and wiser for it. Or Alfred Molina, as Jenny’s Dad, who demands her rigorous attention to studies but is easily persuaded by David’s white lies and easy compliments to loosen the reins, leading to his daughter’s downfall.
But Jenny owns the film, a stunning breakout role for Mulligan, a mid-twenties British actor with cherub cheeks and cute dimples, who plays the schoolgirl with convincing ease. An actress who, if not for a disappointing moment in the middle (one for which she bears no blame), might have carried the film to greatness, while gaining An Education along the way.
7¼ out of 10 (recommended) on the Movie Fraction Rating System™
See Also:
 Men In Black III Global Dates By Country |
 Blue Pill Or Red Pilll Your Choice |
 Art House Spotlight: Drexel Theatre Columbus, OH |
