An Education… Life And Its Tough Lessons
By Sumaya Samarasinghe
Jenny Miller is a regular schoolgirl living in England in 1961. She’s an only child and her over protective parents have invested everything in her education and her future at Oxford University where she plans to read English. Jenny is mature and bright for her age. One day after concert practice, Jenny finds herself stuck in the pouring rain at a bus stop with her cello when David Goldman, a charming and soft spoken 30 something older man offers her a lift under the pretext that he is “worried” for her cello! That scene is actually very charming. David puts the cello in the back of the car while Jenny first walks by the car before getting in and changing the entire course of her life. The suave David gets around Jenny’s parents and soon, predictably, an affair begins between the two main protagonists.
Jenny’s Oxford dreams are forgotten and a whirlwind romance which takes Jenny to Paris, jazz clubs and places she only read about in books, become the teenager’s preferred lifestyle.
Directed by Danish director Lone Sherfig An Education is one and a half hours of pure enjoyment.
The casting is near perfect. Carey Mulligan’s breakthrough performance as Jenny earned her a well deserved Oscar Nomination. Mulligan is a 24 year old acting as a 17 year old. She may seem a little too old in some scenes but is generally credible as a wide eyed teenager allowing herself to have her life turned upside down by her older lover. Her face does not have the beauty of a Dakota Fanning or Kirsten Stewart; but there is no doubt that Mulligan’s talent and adorable dimples will be seen on the cinema screens for a very long time. Her next starring role will be as Michael Douglas’s daughter in the sequel of Wall Street.
The rest of the cast which includes Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike are equally convincing in their roles. So hats off to the female director whom I hope will get some day as much recognition as Kathryn Bigelow though their cinematographic styles are completely different.
The film is extremely well edited often to the magical sounds of Juliette Greco or Maurice Ravel. Plus the 1960’s is an esthetically pleasing era to film.
The women are dressed to kill in colourful outfits and great accessories. The men are smart in their suits driving their sleek cars while chain smoking in jazz clubs.
Throughout An Education we know that Jenny will run into some trouble because Sarsgaard’s David despite being a charmer, does not hide the fact that he is a liar and a thief. However Jenny’s strength and maturity in the film are fascinating and we never lose faith that she will overcome all the challenges thrown at her. She falls for the wrong man, gives herself completely, messes up her life, is deceived by the man she loves and claws her way back into the life she wants for herself. Her education is a great lesson about how to deal with the deception and lies that surround us.
A truly wonderful movie, not to be missed under any circumstances.
