An Education

Director Lone Scherfig's coming of age drama, An Education, is a crackling account of one 16 year-old girl's liaison with an older man in 1960s London. Jenny, the teen in question, is not a mindless moppet but rather a free-spirited burgeoning intellectual with a penchant for all things French and an aspiration to attend Oxford. She's portrayed by actress Carey Mulligan in a performance so rich, natural, and fully-realized that the young Brit has found herself a sudden stateside star in the making. She's aided by a full ensemble of impressive players, including Peter Sarsgaard (as lover David), Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour (as Jenny's concerned parents), Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike (as David's suspicious and alluring pals), Olivia Williams (as doting teacher Ms. Stubbs), Emma Thompson (as Jenny's school's headmistress), and Happy-Go-Lucky's Sally Hawkins (in a scene which will break all hearts).

The film's script, adapted by Nick Hornby from a memoir by Lynn Barber, is full of wit, sharp insight, and a playful sense of adventure. It's not preachy or sullen but rather gently revelatory in the way it navigates true drama with all the humor and joy intact. The relationship between Jenny and David is allowed to have both charm and squirm, and the latter character's persona (a slick con man at best) is a tight rope walk of complex layers and manipulation. David offers young Jenny a world of opportunity complete with posh concerts, art auctions, and a trip to Paris. The young lady is then placed between worlds, wanting only the lavish luxury David offers but still obligated to a family which has dedicated themselves to her academic pursuits.

What's most refreshing is that this is a smart movie about smart people who make real choices, real errors in judgment, and ultimately suffer real consequences. It stands apart as a sophisticated, yet by no means stale, character drama that feels plucked from another era (perhaps its own period). It explores ordinary life and complication with great nuance.

Grade: A-