An Education

[Monotreme]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f-b_1MHQOso/SlzgLF3likI/AAAAAAAAAQE/AOY_T4CbFuI/s400/an+education+poster.jpg

Directed by Lone Scherfig

Written by Nick Hornby
Based on the memoir by Lynn Barber

Genre: Drama

Plot Outline: A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.

Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson, and Carey Mulligan as Jenny

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual content, and for smoking.

Runtime: 95 minutes

I'm surprised this film doesn't have a thread yet, considering that it's been in limited release in the US for the past three weeks, has so far grossed $1.5 million on no more 48 screens, was a smash at Sundance and has quite a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding it. I saw the film earlier this week and can safely say that I REALLY enjoyed it - its plot is pretty run-of-the-mill but its characters and setting bring up very resonant themes and ideas that really get you thinking well after the film has ended. It's also fantastically well-made, with a very detailed 1960's London setting and gorgeous cinematography and musical scores. Not to mention its fantastic performances, both from newcomer Carey Mulligan but also from its supporting players, especially Alfred Molina who delivers his finest performance since Frida. This movie will definitely become a must-see in the next couple of months, but if it's playing near you, I highly recommend it. I'll be back with a full review later next week.

[Monotreme]

My review:

The indie period drama is something I whole-heartedly think we don’t see enough of. Its studio counterpart is a well-versed and prominent genre in and of itself, with a very long history, but every studio film has its restraints and limitations, even something as naturally rich and lush as a period/costume drama. But there’s something about the indie or foreign production that lends this classic genre a certain edge to it that a big studio would be more wary of. The genre has seen somewhat of a decline since its Merchant-Ivory heyday, but I’ve recently been noticing an incline, much like the return of science fiction and the return of the musical a few years prior. Hopefully, An Education will be a prominent figure in a new renaissance of indie period films, because this genre – and movies from other genres – has a lot to learn from it.

I think that a major contributor to this film’s edge as opposed to many other more rigid and less passionate films is its director. I have written extensively about directors changing their styles or taking their films in a more mature direction in previous reviews, but in this case, it’s a full 180. Lone Scherfig started her directing career along with her fellow Danish colleagues in the Dogme 95 movement that so defined Danish cinema of the past decade-and-a-half, and here she gives us An Education, which is not only her English language debut but also a film so calculated and technically precise that it is practically the exact opposite of the loose, gritty, un-planned and chaotic nature of Dogme 95. I don’t like to judge the actual change in direction because I’m sure that out there someone thinks that Scherfig “sold out” and that her Dogme 95 work was far more interesting and unique, but if anything, and as I have already indicated in the past with directors such as Paul Thomas Anderson and David Fincher, I think it’s impressive just to see that a director is capable of making such a drastic change in their style while still retaining their uniqueness and voice.

As a period film, this is without a doubt one of the best I’ve seen in recent years. It takes place in London of the early 1960’s, and its attention to period detail is second to none. As with the best of its kind, the film absolutely excels in the fields of production design, set construction and costume design, and this film struck me as particularly accurate in getting all the nuances right, not only in the set dressing and props but also in the mannerisms, speech patterns and behavior of the characters in general – obviously I don’t know for a fact that it is completely accurate as I didn’t live in 1960’s London, but the film does carry an air of authenticity that really lends it that extra edge. The movie is also gorgeously shot, with luscious and fluid cinematography by John de Borman, and features a sweeping musical score by Paul Englishby that befits it perfectly and is so good that I would gladly listen to it on its own.

But in a film like this, as it has always been from Gone with the Wind to Sense and Sensibility to Pride and Prejudice, the period setting, production design, costumes and cinematography are nothing without convincing performance, and in that field, this film once again really excels. The cast is headed by newcomer Carey Mulligan, and she is truly a revelation. For such a young actress, she manages not only to carry an entire movie on her shoulders in the starring role, but also manages to create a unique and compelling character. Jenny does not merely drive the plot; she has her unique quirks, her speech patterns; she speaks fast and cynically, and often injects French words she is studying at school into her sentences. These are the little details that really make a convincing, three-dimensional character, and although only 24, Mulligan totally nails it. Co-starring with her is Peter Sarsgaard, who delivers a far more subtle but still effective performance as the thirysomething playboy who sweeps her off her feet. Sarsgaard is an actor whom for years I have described as “underrated”, and from Shattered Glass to Garden State to Kinsey to Jarhead, he has delivered an eclectic series of successful and under appreciated supporting performances. For someone unfamiliar with him, it would be impossible to notice that he’s actually American, and I think that an American actor who is capable of convincingly playing a Brit is one of the most impressive and difficult acting achievements.

Filling out the rest of the cast are a plethora of prolific British actors, including a brief but wonderful performance from Emma Thompson and what is practically a cameo from Sally Hawkins, in addition to a very convincing and strong-minded Olivia Williams, who has been impressing me a lot as of late on Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”. But the supporting actor who takes the cake for me and totally steals the show is none other than Alfred Molina, who plays Jenny’s father. It is a role that could so easily fall into two-dimensioned territory or simplified villainy, but Molina turns it into one of the most compassionate and well-rounded characters in the film. We the audience may agree or disagree with his deciding everything for his daughter and controlling her life, but we never for a moment think that he isn’t acting out of pure love for Jenny and that he only wants the best for her. It is his best work since Frida.

In terms of the plot – a young schoolgirl who is whisked off her feet by a playboy twice her age – at first it would seem that it is fairly simply and straightforward, and that it could easily fall into simplicity and meaninglessness. But the script, adapted from the memoir of Lynn Barber by none other than Nick “High Fidelity” Hornby (who also wrote “About a Boy”, an underrated favorite of mine), is anything but simple and straightforward, and Hornby’s contribution lends undeniable depth and resonance to the film. It isn’t just a movie about a nonconfirming romance: it’s a film about England in the early 1960’s, on the verge of the Swinging 60’s and the global Cultural Revolution but currently still holding on to its post-WWII conservatism. It’s about three generations of Brits and their conflicting ideas and feelings about themselves and about their lives and existence: The adults, in whose minds World War II still resonates like an open wound; the thirtysomething playboys who were children in the war and so were not as touched by it as their parents; and finally, the young generation, Jenny and her classmates and friends, born after the war and symbolizing the future of England. It’s about a woman’s place in British society and how her father insists she either seek an education or find a man who can take car of her financially, how her teachers insist she can be either a teacher herself or work in public service and not have any aspirations beyond those specifically-carved niches for women in society, and the post-war thirtysomething generation, who expose her to an exciting new world of jazz and culture only for her to realize that this is also a sham. Jenny finds herself trapped between these two worlds – the vitality of the youths and the conservatism of the adults – serving as an allegory for England herself at the time.

The period film has been a long-standing genre practically for as long as there has been narrative cinema, and throughout them, many directors, from Cecil B. DeMille to William Wyler to James Ivory have defined the genre and crafted seminal works that feature the absolute cream-of-the-crop of production values, costume design, cinematography and musical composition. But recently, a new generation of period film directors, including Saul Dibb, Jean-Marc Vallee, Tom Hooper and Edgar Wright has invigorated the genre by crafting period films with a newfound vitality and a certain edge to them that totally obliterates the rigidity and restraint so commonly identified with the genre.

RATING: 8/10.

[Dutchman]

**General Spoilers**


This is an awesome movie that becomes only a really good movie when it falls on its face in the last twenty minutes.

The cast is uniformly fantastic. Mulligan's performance is perfect. Lives up to the hyperbolic "a star arrives" nonesuch and then some. Molina and Seymour are great and do a lot with their roles. And Sarsgaard's Cheshire cat smile is flawless, pimping around and getting what he wants every time until the rug gets pulled out from under him (or pulls the rug out from under himself), and in those few scenes he is at his best, but its in that regard that I feel the film also stumbles in the last scenes.

I did not feel that the film had sufficient or satisfying closure to its story. When the illusion comes apart, instead of going deeper, into the cracks, to the heart of the thing, the filmmakers pull out completely, and Jenny's hugely messed up situation is resolved in a two-minute montage, and she lives happily ever after... But, now how selfish am I being here for this criticism? After all, this was based on a memoir, and the "real" Jenny did, as any smart and right girl would, just get as far away from the "real" David as possible and got on with her life, and went to Oxford. So, I cannot be tot strict with this criticism. But I can say that I did want more. Maybe the confrontation that I so desired would have been just as cliche as the Disney ending we got.

It is a sharp film, though. And despite my itchy bitchings, I do operate under the knowledge that it is infinitely better than any Hollywood film I've seen this year. So,

I'd give it a ****/*****

[TeawithBlood]

This movie was almost truly perfect. My only complaint is that the ending was a bit flat.

8/10

[JCPhoenix]

Saw this a couple weeks ago - liked it but not enough to come back here and write much of a response on it. I thought the film was well-made and well-told in every way but a mostly conventional coming-of-age story that didn't blow me away, though it did leave a faint smile on my face. The one thing that I did take away from this movie is that Carey Mulligan is going to be a STAR. She singlehandedly elevates and carries this movie and if there is a reason that this is a must-see film, it is cause of her work.

As for Sarsgaard, I was hoping this would be the film to take him to the Oscars but it isn't as showy a role as I was thinking it would be. This year hasn't been good for me as a Sarsgaard fan. I wasn't too impressed with Orphan and I hated Mysteries of Pittsburgh so I'm glad at least this was a mini-redemption of sorts. It's a good, effective performance and just below his work in The Dying Gaul and Shattered Glass (which are my two favorite Sarsgaard performances)

7/10

[Canto]

I really liked this, Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina were great but I did think the ending seemed rushed and it didnt fit with the rest of the movie. 8.5/10

[Jae Rell]

Good movie. Movie had me interested all the way through and Carey Mulligan was great. Only thing I didn't like was ending, which affected my rating.




Rating - 7.5

[The Heart Collector]

I didn't really like this movie that much. It was not something I could really get into, so to speak. I understood the events that were happening but didn't really relate to them so I didn't care much for how it would develop.

I think the movie wasn't really that successful at presenting Saarsgard's character as a truly charming guy, he always seemed kinda slimy to me and the parents were just too easily conned. I'm not opposed to the idea of the parents being conned, but they barely put up a fight! The movie also was missing the sense of wonder that should have been there because of the guy's deeds... I mean, I dunno. It was like it sorta was from her perspective, but not emotionally so. Which is dumb.

For that matter, you have a character who is deceiving people left and right, it's pretty obvious to the audience that he must be in one way or another deceiving the girl too, and quite frankly it should be obvious to her.


Anyway, maybe a 6/10. I don't regret watching it or anything but I'm baffled people found it like, an amazing movie. I'm willing to overlook flaws when I have a strong emotional connection to a movie, but I had none here.

[Briare Rabbit]

I didn't really like this movie that much. It was not something I could really get into, so to speak. I understood the events that were happening but didn't really relate to them so I didn't care much for how it would develop.

I think the movie wasn't really that successful at presenting Saarsgard's character as a truly charming guy, he always seemed kinda slimy to me and the parents were just too easily conned. I'm not opposed to the idea of the parents being conned, but they barely put up a fight! The movie also was missing the sense of wonder that should have been there because of the guy's deeds... I mean, I dunno. It was like it sorta was from her perspective, but not emotionally so. Which is dumb.

For that matter, you have a character who is deceiving people left and right, it's pretty obvious to the audience that he must be in one way or another deceiving the girl too, and quite frankly it should be obvious to her.


Anyway, maybe a 6/10. I don't regret watching it or anything but I'm baffled people found it like, an amazing movie. I'm willing to overlook flaws when I have a strong emotional connection to a movie, but I had none here.

Essentially my thoughts on the film. Only I thought it was a real chore to sit through, for the most part. I also found any scene of intimacy to be disappointingly handled and the entire thing just kind of skirts the rim of detail, giving little attention to anything. As a coming of age story, this one is truly average and it is determinedly tasteful and by the end has little of the spunk from which it first started.

Good call on Sarsgaard's role thought HC, totally right on. He did always seem to be a bit of a sleaze to me, though perhaps this could be the point. The title is an "education" after all and in that us people of experience could see right through his act. Which makes the handling of Mulligan's parents all the more baffling. Though Alfred Molina is especially convincing [as always].

Writing this, I'm recalling the film in a bit happier light than I have been. I thought while the majority of the ending was weak, the scene where Mulligan sees the teachers' flat and realizing there is nothing wrong with living an average life and being happy in it was handled rather well.

6/10 for me as well, it has its good points and its bad.

[sbunn10]

Saw this a couple weeks ago - liked it but not enough to come back here and write much of a response on it. I thought the film was well-made and well-told in every way but a mostly conventional coming-of-age story that didn't blow me away, though it did leave a faint smile on my face. The one thing that I did take away from this movie is that Carey Mulligan is going to be a STAR. She singlehandedly elevates and carries this movie and if there is a reason that this is a must-see film, it is cause of her work.

7/10

My thoughts exactly. I liked it, but it's certainly nothing too special. 7/10

[anakinsrise]

A good coming of age story,Carey Mulligan gives such a wide eyed and full of life perfromance you root for her the whole film.Alfred Molina is great as the doting but loving father.
The last 40 minutes of the film takes you on such an emotional rollercoaster, that the ending feels tacked on,as if the writer ran out of ideas.
Scale of 1-10 a 7 ½

[Bourne101]

An Education - 7/10

A decent film, but definitely not what I would consider an Oscar worthy film outside of Carey Mulligan's performance. I have quite a few problems with it. First of all, it is far too conventional throughout the whole film. And just when you think it might put a new twist on things, it wraps everything up in a nice little bow and cheats the audience. Secondly, Alfred Molina's character is just all over the place. Molina plays the character well, but at first his character is this strict "YOU MUST GO TO OXFORD!" kind of dad, but then all of the sudden doesn't give a shit if his daughter pisses her life away and marries a man several years older than her without knowing anything about him other than his claims of going to Oxford and knowing C.S. Lewis. And lastly, the message the film is trying to convey is conveyed very well throughout the film in a rather subtle manner, but then at the end we basically have Carey Mulligan's character telling us verbally what the message of the film is as if the audience is made up of a bunch of brain dead idiots. On the positive side, the performances are great all around, the first half is quite strong, and the few scenes before it goes completely downhill were very intriguing. Overall, a decent film, but not a great one and one that did not quite live up to the hype. I think my expectations may have been a little too high.

[phelonious]

bump

[bigred760]

I had difficulty connecting with this movie. I think the performances by the cast was what kept me watching, but the events and goings-on onscreen were either a little redundant and/or predictable. Carey Mulligan is fantastic playing a school girl swept up in a romance with an older man; it's not that surprising she garnered an Oscar nomination. Peter Saarsgard as her boyfriend and Alfred Molina as her father also deliver great performances. But the coming of age story isn't anything new, and what's she's "learning" through her experience really didn't fascinate me all that much. Also, when the bombshell drops, the movie's conclusion wasn't explored all that much or very well. It seemed to be an easy fix. There were points to the movie that I did like, for example the points made where her father is all about her going to Oxford except when he feels she doesn't have to when she's found a good man. That part of the storyline I did enjoy, but it was the love story and the movie's conclusion that didn't exactly keep me watching.

6/10

[JackDurden]

I would never normally watch films like this, especially watching them in a theater. But I saw the trailer and it was incredibly intriguing. I found a theater near me playing it that weekend and went the following day.

The greatest strength of it was the direction. I had never heard of Lone Scherfig, obviously because she has never made an English language film before, but I think she brought her own sense of style in the film. I'm a fan of Nick Hornby's writing, and choosing him to adapt the memoirs by Lynn Barber gave the dialogue and performances a sense of truth and reality. Scherfig and Hornby capture the feeling of the time and place, and not to mention the performances as well.

A lot has been said about Carey Mulligan. And I have to agree, she was fantastic and dominated the entire film. The supporting performances from Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina were equally good, though I'm slightly saddened that neither recieved a nomination at the Oscars this year.

It really is quite a good film, and deserves all of its praise. Some may regard the plot to be too 'predicatable', but it's pacing and the important message it carries transcend these bounds to become a first rate film.

8/10

*I wrote this back in October 2009

[Puck Bond]

An Education(2009)-9/10...fantastic and totally involving coming of age story set in 1960's suburban London and directed by Lone Scherfig, about a bright young schoolgirl, who learns some tough life-lessons after she gets involved with an older man. Relative newcomer Carey Mulligan gives a fantastic performance as Jenny, a smart, pretty, and vibrant young 16 year-old girl preparing for her A-levels in hopes of studying English literature at Oxford University. Like most girls her age at that time and place, she is confined to a mundane routine that mainly consists of school work, playing cello in an orchestra and the comforts of a simple home-life. She is unwise and naive to the dangers and trappings of the "adult" world, but when a charming and alluring older man played by the always solid Peter Sarsgaard offers her this exciting and alternative lifestyle Jenny jumps at the chance. Carey Mulligan is simply a revelation in this film...how she is not the front runner for the Academy Award for best actress is a complete bloody mystery to me?! Her magnetic performance is so natural and effortless...it makes it hard to believe she is relatively new. She doesn't hit one false note, and its never flashy or contrived like some others I could think of. Its impossible not to see the similarity to Audrey Hepburn both in look and talent, but the girl really has got it...can't wait to see what she does in the future. Alfred Molina is also excellent as Jenny's father, stern but funny and warm as the overbearing parent, who wants what is best for his child. As a former English schoolboy myself I found the story and characterizations very easy to relate to, despite the fact I'm not a 16 year-old girl. I've heard complaints about how the film's last few scenes unfold, and although I understand them, I still found it to have a satisfying conclusion. A great cast lead by a singularly brilliant performance by Mulligan and an interesting take on "education" make this one of the best films of the year. Cast also includes Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins.

[Monotreme]

An Education(2009)-9/10...fantastic and totally involving coming of age story set in 1960's suburban London and directed by Lone Scherfig, about a bright young schoolgirl, who learns some tough life-lessons after she gets involved with an older man. Relative newcomer Carey Mulligan gives a fantastic performance as Jenny, a smart, pretty, and vibrant young 16 year-old girl preparing for her A-levels in hopes of studying English literature at Oxford University. Like most girls her age at that time and place, she is confined to a mundane routine that mainly consists of school work, playing cello in an orchestra and the comforts of a simple home-life. She is unwise and naive to the dangers and trappings of the "adult" world, but when a charming and alluring older man played by the always solid Peter Sarsgaard offers her this exciting and alternative lifestyle Jenny jumps at the chance. Carey Mulligan is simply a revelation in this film...how she is not the front runner for the Academy Award for best actress is a complete bloody mystery to me?! Her magnetic performance is so natural and effortless...it makes it hard to believe she is relatively new. She doesn't hit one false note, and its never flashy or contrived like some others I could think of. Its impossible not to see the similarity to Audrey Hepburn both in look and talent, but the girl really has got it...can't wait to see what she does in the future. Alfred Molina is also excellent as Jenny's father, stern but funny and warm as the overbearing parent, who wants what is best for his child. As a former English schoolboy myself I found the story and characterizations very easy to relate to, despite the fact I'm not a 16 year-old girl. I've heard complaints about how the film's last few scenes unfold, and although I understand them, I still found it to have a satisfying conclusion. A great cast lead by a singularly brilliant performance by Mulligan and an interesting take on "education" make this one of the best films of the year. Cast also includes Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins.

Awesome. Glad to see someone else loved it as much as I did. I still think it's one of the best films of the year, totally underrated. Give Mulligan the Oscar!

[Puck Bond]

Awesome. Glad to see someone else loved it as much as I did. I still think it's one of the best films of the year, totally underrated. Give Mulligan the Oscar!

Just read your review Monotreme...excellently done, I had to smile because we practically used the same exact words in describing Mulligan and Molina, but what you said about Post-War England and the period drama in particular were very good. I'm pissed that I didn't get a chance to see this earlier...it didn't get much of a run in its initial release out here, so after the AA noms came out it got released again...had to jump at the chance to see it before Oscar time.

[Monotreme]

Just read your review Monotreme...excellently done, I had to smile because we practically used the same exact words in describing Mulligan and Molina, but what you said about Post-War England and the period drama in particular were very good. I'm pissed that I didn't get a chance to see this earlier...it didn't get much of a run in its initial release out here, so after the AA noms came out it got released again...had to jump at the chance to see it before Oscar time.

Thanks. Much appreciated :) And yeah, hopefully this little film will be getting a little extra push in the coming month before the Oscars, so that it can reach at least a LITTLE more people than it already has.

[Marley515]

Yeah, I'm gonna say it's Mulligan's performance that moves this film. She truly deserves that nomination she got!
I was annoyed by the fact that her parents let her go off with this grown man! Am I being a prude or something? Or is that how some things work in Europe? I was a little put off on the fact that her father wasn't more protective of her.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film. Saarsgard was a creepy guy. Not charming at all!

[Monotreme]

Yeah, I'm gonna say it's Mulligan's performance that moves this film. She truly deserves that nomination she got!
I was annoyed by the fact that her parents let her go off with this grown man! Am I being a prude or something? Or is that how some things work in Europe? I was a little put off on the fact that her father wasn't more protective of her.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film. Saarsgard was a creepy guy. Not charming at all!

Well, as the film establishes pretty clearly, there were only two reasons women went to GET an education in 1960's Britain: to find a university man to marry and settle down with, and to learn a trade so that they have a back-up plan if they fail to find a man. Jenny's parents were charmed off their socks by David: a young, rich intellectual seemed like an incredibly fortunate find for their daughter - and David was so good at keeping up his charming facade that Jenny's parents, blinded by their excitement that such a man would even give their daughter the time of day, failed to see that it was all a sham.

[ramseyedison]

Thanx for sharing your thoughts here....... I really appreciate it!!!!!:)
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[Marley515]

Well, as the film establishes pretty clearly, there were only two reasons women went to GET an education in 1960's Britain: to find a university man to marry and settle down with, and to learn a trade so that they have a back-up plan if they fail to find a man. Jenny's parents were charmed off their socks by David: a young, rich intellectual seemed like an incredibly fortunate find for their daughter - and David was so good at keeping up his charming facade that Jenny's parents, blinded by their excitement that such a man would even give their daughter the time of day, failed to see that it was all a sham.

Understandable. . . I'm just not convinced. Fathers usually have a knack for tracking in on the "I just want to fck your daughter" vibe.

[HurricanesR1]

I really enjoyed this movie. Mulligan was fantastic and should get the Academy Award for Best Actress.