Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson, and Cara Seymour
Directed by Lone Scherfig
Directed by Lone Scherfig
This is the second Peter Sarsgaard movie this year (the great Orphan being the other) in which he's played a character that has been involved in a "relationship" with an underage female. I'm not sure what that says about Mr. Sarsgaard...I'll let the psychologists determine whether that means something or not.
Set in 1961 (I've said it before, I'm a sucker for movies set in the '60s, for some reason), An Education tells the tale of a year in the life of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a 16 year old teenager who seems content with achieving her father's dream for her of attending Oxford to earn an English degree. One day, she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard) who seems to immediately become infatuated with the girl. Their romance blossoms and Jenny begins to realize that an education may not be what she wants in life.
In order to even begin to like this, you have to look past the fact that there's a statutory rape feeling going on here...and if there's a failure in this movie it's that I felt kind of icky watching it (and I don't quite think that I was supposed to feel uncomfortable...as this idea was never even touched upon). I never quite understood how Jenny's parents (played brilliantly by Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) were able to look past the fact that David appeared to be so much older.
That being said, if you look beyond that, this is a nice little film with a fantastic performance from relative newcomer Carey Mulligan. She was effortless, making me believe her feelings every moment she was onscreen. Fortunately, she's helped by some witty lines from screenwriter Nick Hornby. Nearly every scene between Jenny and her parents was so well-written that I couldn't help but smile at the humor and tenderness on display.
In addition to the great work from Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard is also quite good as the charming (though slimy) David. Not only does he win over Jenny's parents, but he wins over us moviegoers, too. We know that there's something about him that just doesn't seem right, but he enchants us against our better judgment.
The film veers a little preachy at the end, but overall, I was won over by the character of Jenny and particularly Carey Mulligan's performance.
The RyMickey Rating: B
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