An Education

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Lone Scherfig; Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina

Oct 09, 2009 By Rachel Venuti Issue #28 Fall 2009 - Monsters of Folk
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Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a brilliant, pretty schoolgirl dying of boredom in postwar but pre-swinging '60s England. Her overbearing parents are concerned about her Latin homework, she has to smuggle records into her room, and her boyfriend's a drag. When will she be free to wear black, smoke cigarettes, speak French, and attend Oxford? Enter the older man. When David (Peter Sarsgaard) turns his attention to Jenny, suddenly the sweet life doesn't seem so far away.

An Education, written by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy) and based on British journalist Lynn Barber's memoir, is a heady mix of fabulous clothes, beautiful objects, lovely music, art auctions, nightclubs, and glamorous friends. The production and costume design are swoon-worthy. But it's Mulligan's performance as Jenny that makes the film. Mulligan deftly handles Jenny's transformation from levelheaded overachiever to headstrong teen under the spell of the seductive charms of David and his band of merry-makers. Warning: Watching Jenny grapple with life-altering decisions may make you question a few of your own. 

www.aneducationfilm.com

Author rating: 8/10

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Average reader rating: 9/10

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