Novelist Nick Hornby (High Fidelity) turns to screenplays with this drama which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2009. Directed by Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself).
Set in early '60s London, Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a 16-year-old full of promise and intent to study at Oxford. But a relationship with 30-year-old David (Peter Sarsgaard) sends her life off the rails. David introduces Jenny to a glittering new world of classical concerts and late-night suppers with his attractive friend and business partner, Danny (Dominic Cooper), and Danny's girlfriend, the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Rosamund Pike). Just as Jenny's family's long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into Oxford seems within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life.
Based on the intimate memoir by well-known British journo Lynn Barber, An Education is the coming-of-age tale of a teenage girl picked up off the street by a much older man. While that sounds like the scenario for an extremely dodgy movie, An Education is about the ‘education’ of an English schoolgirl yearning to become ‘sophisticated’, swept up in an excitingly urbane, adult world.
Set in '60s London, Jenny (played by engaging newcomer Carey Mulligan) is wined and dined by a much older playboy David (Peter Sarsgaard). Thoughts of Oxford go out of Jenny's clever head as she is seduced by David's lifestyle, trips away, and his gorgeous friends - the suave art-collector Danny (Dominic Cooper) and the pretty but hilariously thick Helen (Rosamund Pike).
While the impressive cast includes Alfred Molina as Jenny's unsophisticated dad, plus Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson as her disappointed teachers, Rosamund Pike reveals herself as a comic genius, lending her nice-but-dim blonde Helen the most brilliantly vacant looks. The superbly understated Peter Sarsgaard even manages to make his would-be sleazy character sympathetic and even a little tragic.
Full of witty dialogue and amusing moments, as well as heartbreak, An Education is a perfect choice for anyone who likes their films funny, fresh, entertaining and even a little nostalgic for a bygone, more innocent, era.
By Margaret Agnew, Flicks.co.nz
There was no need to bring religion into the movie. Another accusation of Jews the Christ killer!
Enjoyable and entertaining. worth watching.
Alfred Molina is a stand out
Beautifully shot, lots of laughs, stunning locations (60s Paris is terribly romantic), and fun characters (Jenny's father is a hoot). My girlfriend and I loved it! A hit with the girls and plenty for the boys too.
A decent but unremarkable film with a big, unforgettable central performance. Carey Mulligan passes with First-Class Honours.
You could say that there's nothing surprising in the oft-told tale of the seducer and the schoolgirl -- hanging out with David is indeed fun, until the dynamic between them begins to shift subtly -- but this one's told superbly, with heart, humor, a marvelous supporting cast and a dazzling recreation of a long-lost, pre-Mod London.
A celebration of intellectual curiosity and personal adventure through a portrait of 16-year-old English girl’s questionable romance with a man twice her age, “An Education” is a wonderful film.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 8th Oct 2009.
Release date: October 8th 2009.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
