An Education

I have been intending to see this for quite some time. I know I shouldn't be put off by the opinion of others around me, but I was told this film wasn't as good as it appeared and so never got around to seeing it in the cinema. My sister suggested watching it tonight and I was interested.

I didn't know much about it (and the little I did had been long forgotten in the months since the film's original release) so I was a little surprised to see Nick Hornby's name flash on screen during the opening credits. Apparently he adapted the screenplay from the memoirs of a British journalist. I'll admit now that I'm not a huge fan of Hornby. His works are very likeable, but never spectacular. That's exactly what I felt about this film.

The story is simple and almost classical. A cautionary tale for young girls that fall in love with older men. The tale is one oft told and the characters are all archetypal. The strict father, the sympathetic mother, the charming gentleman come to take the virgin daughter away. This isn't exactly a criticism. I think this is one of the best executed versions of that story I've seen. However, it does mean that the film is somewhat limited in what it can achieve.

I loved Carey Mulligan. I happened to watch the Doctor Who episode, Blink right before watching An Education and was already in love with her. She's very charming and instantly believable as an intelligent but impressionable young girl. So much so, that there were some genuinely uncomfortable moments in which David's (Peter Sarsgaard) perverseness is illustrated. It really did feel paedophilic when David lusted towards her.

This was one of the better aspects of the film. They didn't shy away from making David seem creepy. Her wide-eyed childishness juxtaposed against his sinisterness was very effective.

Now onto the bad. The characters are completely one-dimensional. Using caricatures does allow for the film's large cast to be introduced well in the short runtime (90 mins) and some humour too, but it's also the film's greatest limitation. I just feel it's too easy to make an audience feel comfortable and tell them a story they've heard a thousand times before. I like to be made uncomfortable (presupposing it actually serves a purpose) and this film just doesn't do that enough.

A few thing just niggled at me when the end-credits rolled. My main issue was that the world Jenny (Mulligan) initially saw wasn't proved to be false. She believed the world was full of dull people getting along doing things they hate for no reason at all. When the film ended this was still proven true, although somehow she was now completely able to join in with it. It was a surprisingly depressing 'happy' ending. Is that the true message of the film? Life is mostly dull and no-one likes their jobs but it's best to just shut up and get on with it?

Reading this, it must seem like I really didn't enjoy the experience, but I assure the reader that the abundance of negativity is mostly due to the cathartic effect it can have. The film has some great direction, brilliant costume design and generally looks incredible. The story is predictable but enjoyable, much like some of Hornby's other works. If you liked About A Boy, you'll find this to be a much better offering.