An Education (2009)

With lots of buzz about a Best Actress nomination and a Nick Hornby screenplay, An Education certainly piqued my interest. Based on Lynn Barber's memoir, the film follows 16-year-old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) during her last year before college. An extremely intelligent, accomplished Francophile pushed by her overbearing father (Alfred Molina) to live rigidly, she hopes to apply to Oxford. Walking home one day from orchestra practice in pouring rain, she accepts a short ride from David (Peter Saarsgard), a smooth-talking 30-something with an easy smile and a nice car.

He expertly charms his way into her parents' hearts and Jenny is allowed to go out with him on different occasions, including a symphony concert and art auction with his friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike). She is instantly taken in by their fashionable adult lifestyle, full of worldly culture and liveliness. David becomes very attached to her and she trusts him despite his less-than-legal means of making a living and knack for deception. Eventually she becomes disenchanted with the education system, unsure how a life of study could be as sought-after as the life David offers her, and must choose which is more important for her future.

An Education is an interesting inquiry into a middle-class young woman's position in 60's England. The importance of education and attending a top-notch university is ingrained in Jenny from the beginning, by both her parents and teachers. But it is also made apparent to her that should she marry a successful man, she need not worry about school at all. It's a weird combination of the 50's suburban housewife and the 60's liberated woman conflicting within one person, and we see her trying to work through it in her interactions with the adults surrounding her.

Carey Mulligan is excellent as Jenny, shifting from an overly studious schoolgirl who tries to make herself seem more cultured by slipping French words into her everyday speech, to a girl forced to grow up too fast due to outside influences. She begins to act more like an adult and experience more adult things, but it becomes apparent that she hasn't actually matured fully. Her parents respond to these changes by treating her less like a child, increasing her misplaced self-confidence and causing problems later on. Her character is handled really well, and I wouldn't be surprised if Mulligan received an Oscar nomination for her nuanced and dedicated performance.

Generally I enjoyed the film, but the ending feels out of place and rushed. I wasn't too surprised by it, it just felt like it belonged in a different movie due to its sudden shift of tone and style. It's a bit hokey, really. I assume that's how the book ends, so it shouldn't be changed, just filmed or approached differently to suit the way the movie was made. I left the theatre with a sort of "huh" feeling. Otherwise, An Education is an engaging character study with a great script and lovely appearances from British actresses I dig, Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson.

4/5