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It's a tale that we've all heard before: young, attractive girl gets seduced by charming older man and falls hopelessly ...
It's a tale that we've all heard before: young, attractive girl gets seduced by charming older man and falls hopelessly in love only to discover that he is not what she thought he was. "An Education" may sound run-of-the-mill, but this in fact is one of the finest films of the year.Jenny (played superbly by Carey Mulligan) is a 16-year-old girl with ambitions of getting a place at Oxford University. Although she is the brightest student among her peers and is pushed towards academic success by her persistent father (Alfred Molina), Jenny longs for more in her life.Enter charismatic stranger, David (Peter Sarsgaard). David is suave, well dressed, intelligent and cultured - in short, he is everything that Jenny could hope for in a man, while he is instantly smitten with the precocious and mature Jenny. Soon, he is taking her to the opera, weekends away in Paris, and introducing her to his close friends Danny and Helen (Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike). Jenny's life is turned on its head and her school education discarded in favour of what her affair with David is teaching her about herself and the world, but will she be able to cope with the dark side of David's life that is the source of his wealth?A film that is so focused on the relationship between two people puts an enormous amount of pressure on the actors, but with Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard, director Lone Scherfig is in very safe hands. Mulligan and Sarsgaard's chemistry is electric and both play their roles to perfection. Mulligan, in particular, meets the challenge of leading a film at 22 years of age brilliantly and deserves the Oscar buzz surrounding her performance. Meanwhile, the support is equally impressive - Rosamund Pike is a surprising delight as the comic relief and Alfred Molina is perfectly cast as the overbearing pushy father who is aware of his own limitations. "An Education" is a lesson in how to tell a familiar tale in a new and exciting way and deserves top marks for its fantastic performances.
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Press Association
A star is born. Twenty-four-year-old British actress Carey Mulligan positions herself as a serious Oscar contender with a mesmerising portrayal ...
A star is born. Twenty-four-year-old British actress Carey Mulligan positions herself as a serious Oscar contender with a mesmerising portrayal of a conflicted schoolgirl in Swinging Sixties London. Based on a memoir by journalist Lynn Barber, An Education is a rites of passage story blessed with a touching and humorous script by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About A Boy). Director Lone Scherfig beautifully evokes an era of mini-skirts, bouffant hair and childish innocence. She delicately handles the heroine's sexual awakening, mining a rich vein of humour in scenes between the girl and her parents, whose desire for their little girl to do well at university threaten to suffocate her. Twickenham, 1961: 16-year-old schoolgirl Jenny (Mulligan) meets handsome stranger , David (Peter Sarsgaard) on the street and is unsure how to respond to the attentions of the older man. When their paths cross again, Jenny nervously accepts an invitation to a classical music concert with David's business partner Danny (Dominic Cooper) and his girlfriend Helen (Rosamund Pike). They gradually lead her stray with visits to late-night supper clubs and a trip to the country. As a consequence, Jenny's grades slip and her teacher Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams) fears her best student is throwing her future away. Still, Jenny is dazzled by her suitor - but not so much that she is willing to surrender to him, confiding: "I'm a virgin and I want to stay that way until I'm 17." As the milestone approaches, Jenny is torn between the hopes of her parents (Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour) and her burgeoning desires. An Education is an elegant and affectionate portrait of post-war conservatism as seen through the eyes of a precocious, yet painfully naive teenager teetering on the cusp of womanhood. Mulligan's tour-de-force central performance galvanises the film, striking the right balance between determination and vulnerability. Scenes with Sarsgaard spark a simmering sexual chemistry that, once consummated, delivers a big laugh when Jenny inadvertently derides David's sexual prowess by musing, "All that poetry and all those songs about something that lasts no time at all!" American Sarsgaard's shaky English accent is an unnecessary distraction. He concentrates so hard on elongated vowels that at times, he almost forgets to deliver a performance - unlike Pike, who relishes her supporting role as a blonde ditz who cannot fathom why a girl would be interested in text books when she could be having fun. "Someone told me that in about 50 years, no-one will speak Latin, probably... not even Latin people," she trills. Emma Thompson enjoys a memorable cameo as the school's headmistress, who won't allow her girls to stray without a stern word. At the end of Jenny's journey of self-discovery, Miss Stubbs notes: "You sound old and wise." A little wistfully, the teenager replies, "I feel old, but not so wise", and we cannot help but smile with her.
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