Movie Review – An Education
An Education deals with an older man having a relationship with a 16 year old teen. Yet, it’s not very dark and not creepy. It’s handled in a way that doesn’t forgive it, but doesn’t draw direct attention to it either. Instead, we are left to watch young Jenny (Carey Mulligan) learn for herself why a relationship such as the one she has with much older David (Peter Sarsgaard) never ends as romantically as one would hope.
Nick Hornby wrote the script, based on memoirs of Lynn Barber. Hornby is a great author who has had many of his novels adapted into movies already (High Fidelity, About A Boy, Fever Pitch). The characters are real and there is a great touch of humor throughout an otherwise dramatic movie. Alfred Molina, as always, is so brilliant in his role as Jenny’s father, Jack. Jack drives his daughter relentlessly to go to Oxford, but is willing to let it all be for naught if she can find a wealthy husband. He cares for her, and tries his best to show it in the only ways he knows how. He doesn’t apologize for his chauvinistic behavior.
Jenny’s love interest David (Peter Sarsgaard) is just creepy enough that we are suspicious of him, but charming enough that we’re curious to see where it’s leading, as Jenny is, rather than wanting her to run straight to the police. Jenny is often brighter than the adults letting everything play out and leaves them wondering who exactly the more mature one was. Meanwhile, others like Jenny’s teacher Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams) know that sometimes all you can do with teenagers is warn them as they make their mistakes, let them learn for themselves, and hope they come back to say, “you were right.”
An Education was so well done and was such an entertaining story. It didn’t bang the audience over the head with a message, or try to take a moralistic stand. Instead, it showed a lesson taught, a lesson learned, and everyone came out the better for it.
One final note – Carey Mulligan did an amazing job in this film and glancing through her current lineup of films this year (Public Enemies, An Education, Brothers) and her numerous films set to release next year, she has all the makings of the new “IT-girl” (no, not “I”, “T” – “it”). Based on her previous work, she absolutely deserves it. However, I will always remember her for the first role I saw her in – Sally Sparrow on one of the best Doctor Who episodes of all time, “Blink”. Sally Sparrow was the best.