Movie Review: An Education

by Justin Velasquez

February 5, 2010

With An Education, director Lone Scherfig presents a film that teaches, not so much in the classroom, but more so in life.  An Education is a story about a teenage girl's quest for something more than the routine, safe and incredibly boring life that most people her age have.  Uniquely, this young woman is about to receive the opportunity to shake up her current status.

Starring newcomer Carey Mulligan (Brothers) as Jenny, the 16-year-old lives in Twickenham with her loving, yet protective, parents, Jack (Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2) and Majorie (Cara Seymour, The Savages).  Jenny is seen as an intelligent, gifted, pretty and (most importantly) innocent when she crosses paths with the 30-something David (Peter Sarsgaard, Orphan).  David is a charmer and takes an interest in Jenny that she simply can't deny.  Their chance encounter is innocent enough - just pleasant conversation during a car ride home that keeps the focus away from the pouring rain.  It's the second "chance" encounter where David makes his move and invites her to join him at a classical concert in town.

David whisks Jenny away and introduces her to his friends, Danny (Dominic Cooper, Mamma Mia!) and his beautiful girlfriend, Helen (Rosamund Pike, Die Another Day).  Along with David, the three represent everything that Jenny lacks in her life, but desperately wants.  The sophistication, freedom and allure of being an adult is something that David can easily provide her, and Jenny relishes in taking advantage of the opportunity.  A romance brews between Jenny and David that at the outset seems pure and innocent, but for reasons much more complicated than the age difference it becomes a major "lesson" that molds Jenny and can affect her future.

Jenny has a beauty that outweighs David's attractiveness by comparison.  But his attraction lies not so much in what he looks like but more in what he can offer her.  Because of that she allows and almost begs for David to be with her.  Even the few transgressions that she notices in him, like how he and Danny steal expensive items from peoples' homes or how David rents flats out to black families so that he can cheaply buy the soon-to-be-vacated neighboring flats and resell them, are morally suspect acts that Jenny overlooks.  It's a simple situation of give and take where both sides, for the most part, benefit.

Their relationship deepens to the point where David proposes to Jenny.  Already having charmed his way into taking her virginity and also having won the approval of Jenny's parents, this is the next logical step and she readily accepts.  Her choice to marry David means that Jenny's dreams of attending Oxford next fall are all but gone.  Not only does she turn her back to her lifelong dream to set up her future, she turns her back on her present life and makes the choice to drop out of school and thus seals her academic fate. 

An Education is almost a cautionary tale that makes it known that nothing ever comes easy, and if it does there will always be a price tag attached to it.  That price tag goes far beyond monetary value and in this case Jenny pays for the good life by sacrificing her academic education and her innocence.  But the education she receives from David is one that is more valuable than anything that she can read about in a book or listen to in a lecture.  Her discovery of David's true self, though, is the catalyst that helps her to understand just what she really is giving up for the life she yearns for.

An Education will definitely resonate with women and parents with daughters, and will be remembered for the possible star-making performance of Mulligan.  She has been compared to Audrey Hepburn, a high compliment on all counts.  She is certainly radiant here and her performance makes it easy for the audience to side with her.  Also putting forth strong performances are Molina and Sarsgaard.  They make the most of their roles and as all good actors do they become the characters they represent.  Both do this in almost any role they take on, so for Mulligan to outshine these two seasoned actors makes her performance all the more impressive.

If you have an opportunity to see An Education definitely do so.  It is not the fastest-paced film but anyone who seeks a life outside of the one in which they currently exist should see it to understand that with anything that one desires there's always a price to pay for it.

3.5 Stars out of Four