An Education

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

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.

I was 14 years old in 1961, just a couple of years younger than the girl here. A couple of years later, I too was involved with an older married man. (But not to worry, the next year I entered hippiedom and all was very, very different.) What I'm trying to say is, "Been there, done that" … except in my case it was Evansville, Indiana and not London. Too bad. Anyway, I was not as sophisticated as this 16 year old (neither was he, by the way) but I reveled in the mystery and adventure of the adult world … also the lies and deceit. The thing is, now that I'm an Aging Hippy, Retired, the age difference of the girl/man couple disturbed me. I was also disturbed by the acceptance of the parents. The movie was well made, the actors do a terrific job, and it made me think. My reaction is my own personal bugaboo. Just thought I'd put it out there.

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

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.