Film Review: An Education (2009)

"A Sophisticated Seduction"

By Jordan Overstreet
Published : September 16, 2010

One of the fossils left behind from the grandeur of the Golden age in Hollywood is the educator- pupil relationship. It has been reproduced, reinvented, and rejuvenated for decades. The 1960's brought us Clark Gable who wanted to be Doris Day's "Teacher's Pet," while the 1970's ushered in a new era of sexual promiscuity and the student-teacher relationship found a new precedent with Mrs. Robinson's iconic seduction of Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate." Fast-forward to the new millennium, and the student-teacher formula has been repackaged to fit Julia Roberts in "Mona Lisa Smile." The relationship between educator and pupil, which began as merely a complication in Doris and Gable's meet-cute, has journeyed to the bedroom, and with this knowledge of sexuality, has returned to the screen through Lone Scherfig's 2009 film, An Education.

Capitalizing on America's fixation with the 1960's drama "Mad Men," Scherfig sets his ‘coming of age' drama in 1961 London, a time when the city was untouched by the forthcoming Beatle-mania. As the opening credits begin to roll over images of young schoolgirls balancing books over their heads, baking cupcakes, and practicing their ballroom dance skills, Scherfig transports us to an era of innocence. We first meet Jenny (Carey Mulligan in an Academy-Award nominated role) in the classroom where her intelligence sets her apart from the other students. As an only child, Jenny is the sole mutual interest between her parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) and her goal to attend Oxford University has become the epicenter of their lives. When Jenny playfully suggests indulging in herself for the afternoon, her father laments, "What would Oxford think?" Jenny's only escape from her sheltered life is her Juliette Greco vinyl record and her dreams of one day reaching the height of sophistication.

Enter David Goldman (Peter Sarsgaard) a much older, mature vagabond in a scarlet Bristol roadster. David is a graduate of the "University of life"; he lives the sophisticated lifestyle that Jenny wants so much to experience. When David invites her to attend a concert in the West End along with his two friends Danny and Helen (Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike), Jenny willingly agrees; thus catapulting herself into the unknown sophisticated world of 1960's London where nothing is as it appears on the surface. Sarsgaard's charm and delicious dimples mask his bad boy persona, so even when he lies to Jenny, the audience is hypnotized by his spell. Soon Jenny comes to embody the lyric, "You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger" as she is inducted into a new family nucleus--David, Danny, and Helen--abandoning her goal of attending Oxford.

A native of the British Isles, Mulligan is a newcomer to the American screen. Despite being a woman of twenty-four, Mulligan's reprise of her teenage years feels fresh. As Jenny blossoms out of her humble school-girl upbringing and into a chic Audrey Hepburn-esque young woman, Mulligan's performance proves that naivety and a loss of innocence are still two very powerful elements to be explored on screen; and even if she may be sleeping with and older man, she embarks on the taboo relationship with class.

While some actors would leave the character as a heartbreaker, Sarsgaard layers this wayward adulterer with a level of sadness that allows David to be multidimensional and make it that much worse when we learn that he has been conning Jenny and her family all along. Pike plays a terrific foil for Jenny in her presentation of the wise fool Helen, who is knowledgeable about sex but when it comes to literature is a complete dunce. When Jenny reveals she has gotten a "B" in her Latin class, Helen consoles her saying, "someone told me that in about 50 years, no one will speak Latin, probably. Not even Latin people." Helen's idiotic statements are just a few of many witty lines crafted by screenwriter, Nick Hornby ("Fever Pitch," "About A Boy").

Hornby adapted his screenplay from Lynn Barber's autobiographical short story, "An Education," in which she recounts her torrid affair with an older man during her final years of high school education. Hornby is far too faithful to his original source; thus, when he attempts to take liberties with Barber's tale, such as the row between Jenny and her head mistress, Ms. Walters (Emma Thompsen), he confuses the spectator into reading the film as a feminist critique of female education in the 1960's.

During the heated exchange, Ms. Walters claims, "there is nothing worth doing without a degree," and suggests that Jenny has few options--she can either work in education or the civil service. Jenny explains that she can "work hard and be bored" or live the lavish lifestyle she has created with David. Like any sixteen year-old, Jenny chooses the latter, exposing the lack of career options for women. This claim would support the notion that Jenny's education comes not from the lips of David but from the help of her mousey English teacher, Miss Stubbs, who steps in at the end of the film to help Jenny rewrite her setback. In contrast, Barber's cites her David as the teacher who exposed her to the harsh reality of life and truly educated her about the way the world worked. Barber saw these experiences as her education. Jenny seems to fall into a similar category.

So what exactly is "An Education" trying to say? Any enlightened movie-goer will recognize that it is not just the facts we learn in the classroom, but the application of these lessons and the street smarts we pick up along the way that truly shape us into the people we are today. The cinematic experience allows filmmakers the rare opportunity to challenge the audience's perceptions about life and society at large, yet "An Education" does not ponder any life altering questions. It merely warns us not to get wrapped around the finger of a well-meaning stranger, a pitiful end to a film that began so potent with possibilities.

An Education. Directed by Lone Scherfig; written for the screen by Nick Hornby; based on the memoirs of Lynn Barber; released by Sony Pictures Classic. Starring: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, and Emma Thompson. Running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes.