Sunday, November 08, 2009
A+E, Movies, Reviews

‘An Education’ you’d be stupid to miss

 

It’s oddly serendipitous that “An Education,” a dramedy about the romance between an English schoolgirl and a man more than twice her age, should be released at a time when the news offers frequent reminders of Roman Polanski’s rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Because Jenny Miller (Carey Mulligan, in a star-making role) is 16, the age of consent in Britain in 1961, when “An Education” takes place, there’s no legal issue here, only a moral one.

One rainy day, David Goodman (Peter Sarsgaard) offers Jenny a ride home from school. David charms Jenny, then her parents (Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour), who let him take her to a classical concert, double-dating with his friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike).

David can charm anyone into anything. He tells Jenny he and Danny are business partners, “buying and selling this and that.” What little Jenny sees of their dealings looks increasingly shady, and she later finds out they’re real estate speculators preying on racial fears.

But David is a gentleman where Jenny is concerned, and accepts her plan to remain a virgin until she’s 17. He takes her places her homebody parents never would, exposing her to grown-up culture. Her education includes a minor in gold-digging from Helen, an airhead who knows how to get what she wants from men.

The story turns progressively darker as we learn more about everyone’s motives and are reminded of how young Jenny is, as opposed to how old she acts. That Nick Hornby’s screenplay was adapted from a memoir by Lynn Barber ensures Jenny will survive.

With an excellent blend of humor and drama, each in its proper place, “An Education” may not teach you anything, but you’d be stupid to miss it. 3 STARS—Steve Warren