I don't want to lose my virginity to a piece of fruit.

An Education

An Education is a very special film, something I think all women should see. It tells the story of ambitious school girl Jenny, who dreams of going to Oxford until she meets the educated and wealthy David, who takes her into a world she never knew she wanted. It's been a while since I saw a movie I felt really spoke to me. As soon as I left An Education, I couldn't wait to tell others to see it.

As Jenny, Carey Mulligan turned in an establishing performance. This girl is the next big thing. Mulligan captures the innocence, curiosity, and naivete of being sixteen while simultaneously portraying a bright girl who is wise beyond her years. Jenny is an old soul who wants to learn about the world but doesn't know which way is best for her, the school of education or the school of life. Mulligan captured the wide range of emotions sixteen year old girls have towards their parents, school, and love. She was mesmerizing to watch and I look forward to seeing her in other films.

Carey Mulligan was clearly the star but the supporting performances were all strong. Alfred Molina was both funny and frustrating as Jenny's pushy father. Emma Thompson made a fabulous appearance as Jenny's headmistress, a women who had received an education but wasn't very educated. Rosamund Pike was terrific as Helen, one of David's wealthy friends. Pike usually plays intelligent women but Helen was flighty, materialistic, and not very bright. I think it's difficult to play dumb, but Pike was successful. Finally, the always brilliant Peter Saarsgard played David. To begin, Saarsgard nailed a British accent. David was a smooth but slimy character, charming and very suspicious. In many of his performances, Saarsgard lets his audience get acquainted and comfortable with his character, no matter how messed up we discover his character to be. It's a wonderful seduction.

Jenny is a girl who I think a lot of girls and women can relate to. She's smart and inquisitive. She has the desire to travel and learn about French culture. Her family is pushing her into Oxford but they mostly want her to land a rich husband. When Jenny meets David, he presents her with an easy way to experience art and culture and live a rich, extravagant life that she had never experienced. She can skip the hard part of college, go straight to the rich husband, and enjoy all the perks. Jenny belongs in this world. She should be getting to see orchestras perform and traveling to Paris and reading French literature. The easy way is sometimes the far more appealing way but not always the best way and one must not tread lightly on such a decision. However, given the opportunity Jenny had with David, regardless of the fact that he turned out to be scum and a fraud, would you take the easy way out to the good life? I think it's impossible to say which choice one would make and which is right or wrong.

Women need to see this movie. We think we have it hard now, we have no idea. To have almost no say in our futures, to have limited career paths is scary. Once more, to have marriage be the ultimate goal is absurd to me. But I guess that's the way it was back then. While I can't say this is true of all modern, Western women, I think we take our liberties and rights a little for granted. Girls my age didn't have to grow up in a time where women weren't allowed credit cards, and divorce was almost never an option. An Education can serve as a reality check and reminder of how lucky we are in this day and age, though we still have a long way to go.

The title of the film can be understood in two ways. On one hand, it represents Jenny's education and exploration into the world of culture and life lessons, an informal education. Jenny thinks that by being with David, she'll learn about high culture and the world better than through academic study. On the other hand, the title represents a literal, academic education. Jenny encounters two women in the film who were educated by a university. One turned out to be a plain school teacher, Miss Stubbs, while the other is an educated but snobbish and morally uneducated anti-Semite. Jenny might look to these women as potential futures and be scared off of academia by them. I certainly understand her dilemma.

I truly connected with this film. I saw some of myself in Jenny; smart, mature, loving travel, culture and unfortunately, expensive activities such as theater and fine dining. I don't know if I would take the easy way to an easy, more desirable life. I would hope I'd have the good intuition to say no, but I think it's very possible I would make Jenny's initial decision. Like her, I feel old, but not very wise. Being wise will come in time, as I imagine it did with Jenny.

Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road

I just finished this book so I was reacquainted with Shannon's brilliant performance as mentally disturbed John, a character who appears for only a few minutes in the film but who rocks the boat every second he's on screen. Shannon doesn't play John as a stereotypically crazy person, but as a shameless intellectual with no barrier between his thoughts and his mouth. Though he's crazy, he acts the way some of us wish we could; being truthful and not putting up with facades. Shannon did bring some humor to this heavy film, but behind the humor was the sadness one feels for a lost a soul. Definitely a more memorable performance this decade.


Netflix

The Woodsman-A supposedly underrated film of the decade.
The Wild Bunch-Classic.
Strangers on a Train-Netflix Instant. A Hitchcock I haven't seen.