Writers: Nick Hornby, Lynn Barber (author)
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina
Release Date: October 16, 2009
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Living in the time of 1961, the most a young girl of 16 could do was marry well or get a fine education. In London, England, Jenny Miller was facing the ladder. Jenny’s parents have enrolled her in an all girls private school and have set a plan for Jenny (Carey Muligan) to go to Oxford University. Buried in Latin, French and cello homework, Jenny is starting to question the point to all of this. One day while walking home from school, Jenny encounters a rich charming man named David (Peter Sarsgaard), probably in his mid to late twenties. He drives her home because of the pouring rain, and later Jenny finds flowers on her doorstep with a note attached from him. After he charms Jenny’s parents, David takes her out on a luxurious date with his friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike) to the opera. Soon enough, the two are having a relationship with each other and Jenny is introduced to a life of wealth, luxury and fun. Knowing she has a future with David, Jenny contemplates whether she wants to continue with her old, boring lifestyle she once had which means continuing with school and going to Oxford. Based upon the memoir by Lynn Barber, and adapted as a screenplay by Nick Hornby, An Education triumphs in displaying what little choice young women had in deciding what to do with their life, in this time. Newcomer, Carey Mulligan plays the character of Jenny with wit, strength and naivety that made the audience understand this character a bit better. Alfred Molina plays her father, and it is incredibly touching to watch him on screen. The character he plays is protective, sweet, but a bit of a pushover. Everyone’s eyes are drawn to him, when he speaks. Emma Thompson has a few brilliant scenes as the headmaster of Jenny’s school and Olivia Williams is very good as Jenny’s boring, but helpful English teacher. One more thing that’s comes across nicely on screen are the beautiful costumes. A film that takes place in London, England in the 1960’s means many chic clothes from the period of mod. The costumes not only looked fantastic, but also helped define the movie’s setting quite a lot. This is a poignant story that is not over-the-top, but never boring. It was simple enough for the audience to relate to, and yet interesting enough for audiences to imagine this girl’s life. German director, Lone Scherfig achieved in making An Education a wonderful film to enjoy and one can only hope she continues to make such great movies in the future.
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