Drew's

Date Reviewed	11/13/2009
Title	An Education
Rating
Directed By :	Lone Scherfig
Starring :	Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper
Review	There’s almost nothing I didn’t like about this film. Carey Mulligan stars as Jenny earning a real life hard lessoned experience in “An Education.” It’s the early 1960s in England and Jenny appears far beyond her years as a sixteen approaching seventeen year old student. She’s an intelligent girl being groomed for English literature at Oxford. She has several supporters from her teachers, friends and parents. Whenever you hear the term “coming of age story”, that’s quite a vague slogan. This simply means someone young; capable of learning and predictably changing goes through a life altering situation usually involving love and directional choices. Peter Sarsgaard co-stars as David. He’s an older man expressing an interest in getting to know Jenny or at least using his economic prowess to show her wonderful times. She is intoxicated with exposure since she’s bored with her country, fancies the French and thinks outside the mainstream box. Alfred Molina is incredible in a supporting role as her father Jack. He’s your traditional conservative parent trying to protect his daughter’s inevitable transfer from girl to woman. His character adds a terrific amount of passion to parental guidance. Cara Seymour plays Jenny’s mother Marjorie. She has one of those Jessica Lange parts where her performance is on her face with body gestures more than her dialogue. Jenny becomes consumed by her exciting lifestyle as adult authorities other than David, begin to share greater concerns about her future. Carey Mulligan is absolutely, unequivocally fabulous as a sharp but naïve beaming student. She resembles a young Emily Watson mixed with Michelle Williams. If I stare long enough, I might find a shade of Samantha Morton in her as well. She even gets gowned up like when Tom Cruise’s people dressed up Katie Holmes to appear older, experienced and more visually sophisticated. The storytelling on screen is fluid, fair and realistic. The folks in charge of casting did a fantastic job in hiring Olivia Williams to play a teacher, Emma Thompson to play a school principal, Sally Hawkins to play a disappointed family woman and many others. Rosamund Pike joins the fun as Helen, a good time girl that lacks the wit and cultural mind, giving the book cover perception of an empty doll. The people responsible for the picture didn’t miss a beat in any category. The director of photography captures each scene impeccably. “An Education” is a movie that lives up to any prior hype and the brand that will be Carey Mulligan just shot up the charts to the moon. This is one of the best films in 2009. Drew's Reviews, copyright 2009, Drewsmoviereviews.com, property of Drew Bean.