An Education (2009)
Scherfig's skilfully directed film of Lynn Barber's poignant memoir of growing up in England in the 60s contains some outstanding performances in the main roles. In particular Carey Mulligan is utterly convincing as the sixteen-year-old Jenny despite the fact that the actress was herself 23 when the movie was made. Peter Sarsgaard is very good as the rotten Goldman and you would not know that he is an American actor. Well done him! There is also a fine cameo from Emma Thompson as Jenny's disbelieving and condemnatory headmistress."An Education" is a movie whose focus is on the choices that people make, why they make them, and what their repercussions are. We come to see that Jenny isn't the only one being forced to make big decisions, but these decisions all have big consequences for her. The director completely nailed it with the overall focus and tone of the movie. It presents some morally questionable activities without being preachy or condemning. Given that the subject matter of the film is somewhat sordid, "An Education" is quite funny, with the main humour coming from Jenny's overbearing but clueless and easily manipulated father, played by Alfred Molina and David's friend's stupefyingly dim girlfriend Helen, played by Rosamund Pike. Nick Hornby's screenplay is tight and realistic and true to the period, as is Ben Smith's brilliant art direction. "An Education" is not only one of the best character-driven movies of 2009, but also the strongest British movie of the year! A gem!
- My Rating: 8.00/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (7.9/10)
- IMDb: 7.7/10
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