Une éducation

Before I even get to the review, I want to let you know you can currently find this DVD for $2 on the bargain table at your local Blockbuster (if you live in the USA or Canada). Well worth the price.

Now let's get to the movie. If you're like me & somewhat unexcited by the May- December romance story (Lolita, Venus, Pippa Lee, Last Tango, every Woody Allen flick ever made), you might be asking yourself why you're even bothering. The story here is nothing new, and the description on the back of the DVD sums up the plot in 2 sentences: something about a young schoolgirl torn between her conservative life vs. the glamour life of jazz clubs, older men and sex. But despite this age-old premise, it's the presentation that makes it thoroughly engaging and satisfying.

For one thing, it's set in Britain in the early 1960s. The attitudes, costumes and speech instantly take us back to a time when perhaps the plot wasn't so predictable. Much like watching Three's Company which is so undeniably 70s, we are transported back to a time when the now-trite plot wasn't so trite. So even though part of you may sit there shaking your head thinking "I know where this is going", the overall effect is to experience the film not only through the eyes of a naïve 16-year-old but also through the eyes of a somewhat naïve society. Dark-skinned people are called negroes. The term "Jew" is batted around like an insult. Characters in general are hopelessly clueless compared to today's standards. But the film is presented in a way that we all (should) take it in stride.

For that, I'd say this is probably the most interesting of the May-December romance films I've seen. Also I like the fact that it follows the girl's (younger) point of view whereas all the above films take the man's (older) viewpoint which, especially in the case of Woody Allen & Bertolucci, can come across as the director's attempt to justify his own taste in women. This film, rather, stays away from the subjective morality argument and instead focuses on the consequences. So although the story is far from original, I have to admit that the overall tone is something I haven't seen before.

...with the exception of one amazing film, City of Lost Children (by the director of Amélie). Now there's a film that approaches the subject in a thoroughly unconventional and charming way. If you haven't seen that one, go find a copy right away.

PS Alfred Molina!! You'll love Alfie in An Education. If you're not already a fan of his, check out Chocolat, The Hoax, and you MUST see his skit in Coffee & Cigarettes.

An Education

Take a star high school senior shooting for Oxford, and add a charming man more like thirty who seduces her (and you) with his utterly kind, gentle, clever, and generous nature.

You can guess what follows. And in a way, that's the let down of the whole thing. The idea is a simple one, yet it unfolds so beautifully, with some extraordinary acting, it is quite engrossing. John Peter Sarsgaard as David, the seducer, is totally convincing, even though we know fairly early that something isn't quite what it seems. As events gradually devolve, so does his character, to a final, deflated ending. The heroine, Jenny, swept into the mess, is played with predictable delicacy by Carey Mulligan, and in a surprise she is really a great supporting role, of sorts, for Sarsgaard, even though she is the star.

Part of the appeal of the movie is the period, early 1960s, as England is finally getting out of the huge debts and doldrums of World War II and the swinging 60s are ready to fly (the Beatles are together but not well known). The old fashioned world, conservative and conventional, of Jenny and her family is dismal and yet comfortable, adorned with small worldly decorations. David brings Jenny to modern life, with its jazzy clubs and trips to Paris, and it's hard not to say his version of life is far superior. Oxford, after all, is so old-school.

It's a joy on all these levels. It doesn't quite have the naturalness it always needs, a few are scenes forced, and the plot lacks complexity (not that complexity is needed, but it needs something to layer it up). Most off-putting of all is the overly precocious Jenny, whose speeches to her schoolmistress and her teacher, and to David, sound like literature, not like a real 17 year old struggling to escape a sheltered upbringing. It doesn't ring true, and the movie depends on believability.

It's early 1960's London. Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan) is a sheltered schoolgirl aiming to go to Oxford. She meets David Goldman (Peter Sarsgaard) one rainy afternoon. He's a mysterious older man who opens her eyes to the exciting world outside her life at home. He's so slick that even her parents fall for him. Only there's more of a dark side to David. He does questionable things to keep his highlife. She joins him as her live inevitable slide downwards.

It's annoying how easily deceived her father (Alfred Molina) is. He's more caricature than anything. There are some wonderful exchanges with Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams). Peter Sarsgaard is so obviously slimy that it's offputting. Carey Mulligan is absolutely lovely. She puts in a great performance.

I remember this film getting quite a lot of critical praise when it came out and so I was intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. Of course it got nowhere near being shown in my local cinema and so I waited patiently for it to show on TV. A screenplay by Nick Hornby based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and set in London in the early 1960's it has all the hallmarks of a decent production. You'll be glad to know that I agree with the critics, yes, it's pretty good. There were a couple of points where it could have gone off the rails, but fortunately it stayed on the tracks and we have a fine piece of work.

Jenny Mellor is a bright sixteen year old student whose parents have ambitions for her to study at Oxford University. She is slightly disenchanted with her lot though, and yearns to go out and experience the world while she is still young. By chance she meets David, a man more than twice her age, who recognises something in her and takes her to see the sights. Two friends of his, Danny and Helen come along and Jenny goes to concerts, sees art, dines in fine restaurants and even visits Paris. David does all this with Jenny's parent's permission, he is very persuasive. Of course all is not what it seems and her world is about to take a massive jolt and the many arguments she has made against conformity are about to be tested.

This is a very well made film which features a stand-out performance from Carey Mulligan as Jenny; she was really outstanding in the part. Peter Sarsgaard was suitably suave as David, as was Dominic Cooper as Danny. Both Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour did a good job as Jenny's parents, Jack and Marjorie. Rosamund Pike played the part of the, rather dim, Helen very well and Olivia Williams did a very good job as Jenny's teacher Miss Stubbs. Finally, a mention for Emma Thompson who had a nice cameo as the headmistress.

This film asks a lot of questions about how some parents try to control the lives of their children, although it's not the main point of the story. I really liked the way it was written but I still felt one or two bits could have done with tidying up (I'm sorry, I can't be specific – spoilers). Having said that, I did enjoy it very much and I really liked the ending. I would definitely watch it again sometime… Recommended.

My Score: 7.6/10

An Education works little wonders even if it's an imperfect film. There's much to recommend about it as this season's British indie movie with something different going for it. It's something about its character and the circumstances of what happens to her that's fascinating: sixteen year old Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a smart girl with a love for Parisian culture and music and movies, is pressured to get into Oxford, not even so much for the English degree to teach English (or Latin as case might be) but for the status. Enter in David (Sarsgard), an older man who rides up to Jenny one rainy day and offers her a ride home. From then on its a romantic affair between the two, where he whisks her to wonderful jazz clubs and auctions, and even, eventually, to Paris. A twist happens late in the film that turns all of this upside down, but I dare not reveal it here.

What makes it interesting is not so much the teen girl with adult male aspect (on that side of the coin it's like a British version of Manhattan only told from the girl's point of view and a less conflicted man in the situation), but how the relationship is perceived by her parents and peers and teachers. This isn't some illicit affair to be kept under wraps, but something that (refreshingly for a movie at least) is out in the open, and with that comes the awkward stares and upturned eyebrows, and as well the charm that David exudes on Jenny's parents. It's as much a film about romance as it is about class, about how Jenny fits in or could fit in to a society in Britain in 1961, and how David fits in and how her parents see her fitting in (or, for that matter, how David fits others in as a property re-seller to the black community). And of course the aspect of Oxford vs. getting married, the only options for Jenny at a crucial point.

And now for the rest of the good and... well, not so much bad but just underwhelming. The good is this newcomer Carey Mulligan. One can't wait but to see her in other films; she's a natural at playing a great range of emotions required for this complex character, a girl who thinks and acts and talks like a woman but yet still sort of a girl at the same time (see Jenny's trip to Paris for that). Supporting players like Molina and Williams are also very good, giving their scenes the proper 'umph' needed and gravitas in some key scenes. Sarsgaard fares a little less well with a good performance but less than convincing accent. The screenplay by Nick Nornby (for once he's adapting a book!) and it's written with a natural ear for the way characters at that time might speak. The direction is clear and concise and just handsome enough to be competent. The last ten minutes, however, seem rushed on all of the ends of the storytelling, after such a good momentum has been building on the crest of Jenny's future.

It's a very good movie where we care about the characters and see some life lessons learned with (usually) unsentimental results. It's a tragic-comic crumpet of a movie, dear and serious, amusing but very telling about human nature. 7.5/10