An Education

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The last time I saw a teenage girl this cute, clever, and endearing, her name was Juno MacGuff in a film I had pegged as Best Picture of 2008. As it turned out, Juno lost, inexplicably in this reviewer’s mind, to No Country for Old Men. (Right filmmakers, wrong movie.) An Education didn’t win Best Picture either, although it was nominated, as was Carey Mulligan for Best Actress (rightfully so) for her portrayal of Jenny, a 16-year old, Oxford-bound student in 1961 who is both victim and beneficiary of a romance with David, a much older man, played by David Sarsgaard (who I guarantee you will never see in the same room with Keifer Sutherland).

Jenny is smitten by David, and why not? He is charming and educated, has sophisticated friends, and takes Jenny places she’s never been – jazz clubs, concerts, even Paris. He buys her things and introduces her to a world she has never known. Soon Jenny is looking more like a stylish Audrey Hepburn than a high school student. She forges ahead with the relationship – ultimately towards her seventeenth birthday, the day she has determined will be the day she loses her virginity to David – despite the misgivings of her teacher, her school’s headmistress (Emma Thompson) and everybody else. Well, not quite everybody. Her father (Alfred Molina) is smitten by the charming David as well. Her daughter could do worse. Besides, the apparently well-to-do David can support Jenny and by so doing, render an expensive education at Oxford unnecessary.

The thing about An Education is that we know the path Jenny is taking is the wrong one. And yet, we cannot help sympathizing with her, even wondering if maybe we’re mistaken. Maybe this relationship can actually work. Maybe David is right for her. We almost hope so, even though our instincts tell us otherwise. Perhaps these are Jenny’s feelings too. There is a wonderful scene where she seemingly has her headmistress on the ropes, asking her what life might really be about, and getting nothing satisfactory as an answer in return. We almost want to cheer for Jenny in the scene, even though doing so would clearly be against our better judgment.

An Education, directed by Danish director Lone Scherfig, works and works well. It is an exceptional coming-of-age film as well as a wonderful period piece. As Juno before her, Jenny gets an education, but as with both films, we feel a little wiser too.

8.5/10

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I really want to see this film.
Thank you for putting this up :slight_smile:

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You’re welcome. Make sure to report back with a post once you’ve seen it. Let me know what you think.

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I was disappointed with this film. The main character was certainly charming and kept my interest, but as the film’s message began to register the movie in general lost it’s charm for me. I didn’t like the black and white portrayal of “pursuing higher education” versus “dropping out” – as if the former is the objectively better choice and the latter leads to being the mistress of a married man and other similarly miserable and immoral fates. In short, I thought the film’s message was artless and not very thoughtful.

The film appears to “teach” the kind of lesson (“Stay in school, kids!”) that might be relevant for students in elementary and middle school, but not for older students or people who want a deeper discussion of what makes a meaningful life and whether pursuing college/grad school is the right thing for them. It’s obvious to me at least that the best educations go to those who are the most disposed to learn, no matter where they find themselves. Learning is not unique to classrooms and formal settings.

Also, I know so many pretentious people at school (like David in the movie) and I sometimes wonder if universities and academia don’t actively encourage it. Being smart and arrogant is one thing, but appearing to know what one is talking about when one doesn’t, or making a subject seem more complicated and important than it really is, is something different, and in my opinion, worse. None of this is to say that schools and universities aren’t important, just that they are businesses and do not hold a monopoly on “education.”

EDIT: I may have misinterpreted the meaning of the film, in which case my criticisms are in vain, swinging at thin air.