Teenage girls often long for something more than what they have: traveling to exotic places, pretty things and having dinner in fine restaurants without worrying about homework or parents. It was no different in 1962, which is where we meet Jenny (Carey Mulligan). The protagonist of An Education is a sixteen year old in an all-girls school where Latin is still considered a necessity. In her free time, she hangs out with her friends, smokes and speaks in French to appear more Bohemian; not that she has a lot of free time with her rigorous course schedule in anticipation for her entrance to Oxford.
In the midst of this, she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard). David has a sports car, a winning smile and a gift for talking anyone into anything if given enough time. He appears to be the perfect man despite being quite a bit older than her.
The film is full of double standards and hypocrisy. While her education is viewed as important in order to get to Oxford, a marriage is considered far more valuable and would null any need for further studies. Jenny suggests to her parents that it would have been a cheaper investment to "send me to the clubs every night." A potential male suitor of Jenny's own age is interrogated through vigorous questions from her parents while David is seen as a mate to have drinks with...Jenny's never even seen her parents drink apart from holidays. When Jenny confronts her friends about not having said anything to her about a mortifying revelation, she is reminded that she condoned questionable behavior before. Indeed, she is a willing participant in deception more than once. None are innocent and it feels right in that regard; more true to life.
The film is done without a lot of frills or effects. The allegation of the film resembling something on television is legitimate with the classic '60s style resulting in simplicity of shots, lingering looks and continuity errors that were a little too obvious, including an unopened present that is suddenly unwrapped between shots. However, these don't matter because of the writing and acting. This is what propels the film to Oscar-nominated status. The script is written by Nick Hornby; his first screenplay since the British adaption of his novel, Fever Pitch, thirteen years ago. If it wouldn't detract from his novel writing, one hopes he will do more screenplays in the future and at shorter intervals. His characters shine with every line of dialogue brimming with insight and/or wit. It was a pleasure to see what would come next and which throwaway line from twenty minutes before has now become immensely important. What we think we know about characters on the screen is in constant flux but not in a way that becomes annoying.
Of course, the writing would not work as well without the cast who is excellent. Mulligan deserves all the praise she's received for being able to go from a naive school-girl full of hope to a jaded adult who knows more than she bargained for while making us love her during the entire process. Olivia Williams also stands out as a teacher who wants more for Jenny than being a homemaker.
In the end, it seems we've all received an education in how things were, how far the expectations for women have come and what people are truly capable of. They can deceive and cause ruin, but they can also improve their situation with the right motivation and others to help them as the characters in this film have proved.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
