An Education

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

In early 1960s England, a 16-year old schoolgirl becomes infatuated with a man nearly twice her age. The best thing about this handsomely made if unoriginal drama is the winning performance by Mulligan, a radiant young actress. American Sarsgaard seems an odd choice to play her British suitor, but he brings an appropriate creepiness to the role. Also notable are Molina, Williams, and Thompson. Although based on a memoir, it is hard to believe that the young lady's parents would be so gullible and idiotic as to let her go out of town for overnight stays with an older man they know nothing about. The screenplay is somewhat plodding, leading to a clichéd ending.

With excellent acting and excellent visuals this is a good film, as a Chaucerian cautionary tale, or a retake on Congreve, it succeeds in buckets. But more even than the excellent script by Nick Hornsby is a marvellous performance by Carey Mulligan.

It tackles what is an incredibly sensitive subject, more so today than even in its setting, the relationship between a teenager and an older man, with definite aplomb. What could have been either an anachronistic script filled with moral sensibilities that didn't surface in 1961 or a cheap and tawdry sensationalist production is handled with verve, humour, and brings both the wonder of first love and the seductive ability of that love to steer lives in directions we'd rather not go out in ways that work very well indeed.

Carey Mulligan has more than a touch of sensibility about her and is, obviously, the more mature, yet still a naive genué - her performance is to be admired for its ability to not switch characters but rather hold a fast course that is totally believable. I seriously cannot think of any debut in the past 20 years that has this weight. Like Taylor in National Velvet or Johnny Mill's daughter in Whistle Down the Wind you just know you are watching something very special indeed.

All the parts are very well written by Nick Hornsby and what we get is both complex and light, a witty drama with depth that truly evokes the post-Suez and Macmillan era; Britain before the Beatles but a Britain full of a generation who didn't wanted to be reminded of rationing and the Blitz, who were searching to get away from the drudgery of a boring job-for-life that was killing their parents by degrees.

While there are moments of real unease, not surprisingly given the subject matter, there is nothing to not recommend about this: it is thoughtful, funny, intriguing, and marks the start of a significant career for Carey Mulligan who will certainly become one of the leading British actresses of her generation.

The notably fabulous part of director Lone Scherfig's "An Education" is the insightful choice of starting off the Jenny & David story with the revival of Floyd Cramer's lively popular piano piece "On the Rebound," a 1961 hit. It's such a catchy tune that the delightful melody stayed with me as I watch Jenny's grown-up education evolves, enjoying the solid performances from the cast, which included Alfred Molina as Jenny's insecure & assuming father, Cara Seymour is the warm & unassuming Mum, Olivia Williams is the dependable & vulnerable teacher Jenny leans on, and Emma Thompson is the cold & unyielding headmistress - however brief her interactions were. (Thompson's scene with Mulligan somehow reminded me of Suzanne Pleshette facing the principal at the beginning of "Lovers Must Learn" aka "Rome Adventure" circa 1962 of romance master, w-d Delmer Daves.) Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike round out the ensemble as the swanky heedless pair of Danny & Helen, accompanying Jenny & David in their escapades & romps.

"An Education" is far from being a Hollywood sugarcoated love story. Based on British journalist-author Lynn Barber's memoir, the screenplay is by Nick Hornby of "About A Boy" and "High Fidelity," who happens to be also from Surrey county in England - Redhill town in southeast region, as Barber - Bagshot town in northwest region. Skillful Danish director Scherfig, whose "Italian for Beginners" 2000 and "Wilbur wants to kill himself" 2002 (my user comments posted on 22 May 2004 at "us.imdb.com/title/tt0329767/usercomments-18") are two worthwhile films to appreciate - she once again delivered a human connection story at once charming and almost slyly edifying. You might even say it's donnish or erudite: step by step accounts and lessons learned for a lovely young 'demoiselle' ready for Oxford. Impressive lead performances from Mulligan - the spunky intelligent Jenny, albeit budding and susceptible, complemented by Sarsgaard's quietly alluring chap of a David. Molina moves right in as Jack, befittingly so for every role he emphatically delivers. Williams is ever so her demure self and restrained as the literary & lonely Miss Stubbs (look forward to her role in w-d Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" 2010, opposite Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor).

It's second outing for Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan together, who were both in director Joe Wright's "Pride and Prejudice" 2005 appealing remake of Jane Austen's classic - Pike as Jane Bennet and Mulligan as Kitty, along with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

The film earned a well-deserved nomination for The Best Motion Picture category along with the other nine 2009 productions for the 82nd Oscar Awards. Besides the superb cast, screenplay, direction and set design, editing and all, the soundtrack selections are quite attractive: Floyd Cramer, Mel Torme, Billy Fury, Brenda Lee, Ray Charles, Percy Faith, Vince Guaraldi and several songs in French lyrics, of course, with five music tracks from the film's composer Paul Englishby. Worth checking into if you so inclined. Yes, you will enjoy "An Education" - entertaining and breezy, not without sensible poignancy.

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