An Education

Lone Schefrig’s An Education won the best cinematography award at Sundance and you can see why. The film is gorgeously shot, helped by a keen eye for 1960’s period detail. It also contains strong performances from all involved. Based on a memoir by British journalist Lynn Barber, and co-written by Nick Hornby, the story is billed as a coming of age tale concerning 16 year old school girl Jenny (Carey Mulligan) and her relationship with David (Peter Sarsgaard), an older man. The film begins with the uniformed Jenny waiting in the rain for a bus outside her school. David pulls up in his car and sweet talks her into giving her a lift home. Who is this David? Is it her brother? A friend? Her father, even? Nope, he’s an older man picking up a schoolgirl in a car. From this uneasy beginning things don’t improve, with the fact that the characters in the story seem to think this is totally normal behaviour and there are only a few quips made about Jenny’s “older man”. Whether this may have been socially acceptable in the 1960’s is a moot point, as for the modern viewer this type of behaviour raises an eyebrow and leaves you squirming in your seat somewhat. David is eventually shown to be the slime ball that he is, but the tone of the film never feels right. One scene in particular, where Jenny partially undresses for David, is very uncomfortable indeed. As mentioned above, the acting across the board is excellent, with Carey Mulligan giving a great turn as the ever more confused Jenny. However, this isn’t enough for you to dismiss the white elephant on the screen that never seems to be fully addressed.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Superbly acted, but the whole thing feels far too sordid to really be an enjoyable watch. Rating: 4/10.