An Education

An Education

2009

dir. Lone Scherfig star. Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Domonic Cooper

Fresh.

I know that term has been used over and over to describe a new film with a novel idea. But I have to use it for An Education. Fresh. Clean. Pure. I'm going to stop cutting and pasting the thesaurus.

With the performance of Carey Mulligan as a sixteen year old who will latch onto any form of livelyhood after living in the doldroms of her years with her boring father and meek mother, the viewer grows quite fond of Mulligan's character. You feel that you've known her all her life and you can understand the mistakes that she makes.

My only complaint: There were points where I found myself realizing that Mulligan is in fact *not* sixteen, so her character drifted in and out of.... character.

I've only seen Domonic Cooper in one other film: Mamma Mia. And I was not thrilled to see his name in the credits for An Education. I was snarkily suspecting him to burst out in song while balancing a cocktail glass in one hand while holding a Pre-Raphaelite in the other. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that he does look quite handsome in suits and can actually act.

Peter Sarsgaard. You know, you don't get the creepy sensation of "older guy seducing way younger girl," with him. You feel comfortable when he's on screen and you grow to like him and his ways. I am definitely keeping an eye out for his future films.

The cinematography of certain portions of the film had the quality of being made on a 60's hand held camera. It kept in feeling with the film and the overexposed quality of the film made it seem as if Sarsgaard and Mulligan were living in a dream as they vacationed in France for a weekend. The film made it appear as a memory that stuck with the viewer even after the film ended.

All in all, I had heard great things about this film, I was disappointed when it played only for two weekends in my teeny-tiny town and I found out about it after the fact. If you enjoy films that aren't filled with blood, guts, and gore, (and actually has a story line that is relatable and comprehendable, cough, cough, A Town Called Panic, cough) then this is a worthwhile watch for you.