Events Calendar
In This Section
Cleveland R&B vocalist to make Akron debut
Actor Bernsen enjoying ride of derby movie project
End of an era: Oprah ending show after 25 years
Ohio native takes second place on 'Project Runway'
'New Moon' casts spell on fans
'The Blind Side' scores as feel-good crowd-pleaser
'Planet 51' is sci-fi animation lite
Barrymore's 1945 film co-stars Garson, Peck
Most Read Stories
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Body with gunshot wounds found in Canton Township creek
Blogs:
Pets:
Sick Pets Get High-tech Health Care
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
The proposed new LeBron mural doesn't do it for me
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Muslim McCarthyism & Death Prayers
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Norma asks if Barkitecture is still at Stan Hywet.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Mulligan superb as teen in coming-of-age drama
By Christy Lemire
Associated Press
Published on Thursday, Nov 05, 2009
Sixteen-year-old Jenny learns the ways of the world in the coming-of-age drama An Education, but there's a revelation in store for us, as well. We get the pleasure of meeting an exciting young actress who surely deserves to become a star.
Carey Mulligan is radiant as a suburban teenager in 1961 London who is curious and clever beyond her years but still rather innocent and impressionable. Although she's a diligent student and dutiful daughter on track to study at Oxford, she sits alone in her bedroom at night longing to be adult enough to live in Paris on her own, basking in the culture. Mulligan maintains a beautifully believable balance of these contrasting forces, even as Jenny gets drawn from the sedate and boring life she knows into a glamorous new one.
Her guide is David (Peter Sarsgaard doing a solid British accent), a 30-something man with whom she has a chance meeting one rainy day and experiences an immediate connection. He whisks her away in his flashy sports car to nights filled with concerts and late-night suppers and, eventually, weekend trips out of town. Even her protective parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour), who are initially skeptical of David's intentions because he's twice her age, fall for his urbane charms. And we do, too, Sarsgaard is so smooth — even though we should know better.
David is funny and attentive, generous and sweet. He takes good care of her and seems genuinely interested in spending time with her, never pressuring her to have sex. And under his tutelage, Jenny positively thrives. She was pleasingly cute in her schoolgirl uniforms, but once she begins dressing fashionably, wearing her long hair in a twist and carrying herself with a more sophisticated air, it's easy to see the gorgeous woman she was always meant to become. (And the details in the production and costume design are all flawless.)
Danish director Lone Scherfig and writer Nick Hornby find just the right touch here with some tricky material, based on the memoir by Lynn Barber. (It's a rare example of Hornby, author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, adapting someone else's work.) The challenge is: How to make David, and this ill-advised relationship, seem thrilling rather than creepy? Through Jenny's eyes, we get caught up in the excitement, too, but as bystanders we know it can't last — even before David's dark side starts to surface — and that's what gives An Education an inescapable tension.
Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike ideally round out David's clique as the wealthy, worldly Danny and his beautiful but vapid girlfriend, Helen. With the icy, blond looks of a Hitchcock femme fatale and a stylish wardrobe of gowns and furs, Helen may appear perfect but she's clueless when Jenny drops French phrases here and there in her speech, and their unlikely friendship provides An Education with some comic relief.
Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson also function as strong female role models in Jenny's life, co-starring as her English teacher and the school's headmistress, respectively. And Sally Hawkins, so lovely in Happy-Go-Lucky, has one great scene in which she provides Jenny with a less pleasant sort of education.
You may think you know where the film is going, but its ecstasy and heartbreak will stick with you afterward nonetheless. It's one of the year's best.
Sixteen-year-old Jenny learns the ways of the world in the coming-of-age drama An Education, but there's a revelation in store for us, as well. We get the pleasure of meeting an exciting young actress who surely deserves to become a star.
Carey Mulligan is radiant as a suburban teenager in 1961 London who is curious and clever beyond her years but still rather innocent and impressionable. Although she's a diligent student and dutiful daughter on track to study at Oxford, she sits alone in her bedroom at night longing to be adult enough to live in Paris on her own, basking in the culture. Mulligan maintains a beautifully believable balance of these contrasting forces, even as Jenny gets drawn from the sedate and boring life she knows into a glamorous new one.
Her guide is David (Peter Sarsgaard doing a solid British accent), a 30-something man with whom she has a chance meeting one rainy day and experiences an immediate connection. He whisks her away in his flashy sports car to nights filled with concerts and late-night suppers and, eventually, weekend trips out of town. Even her protective parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour), who are initially skeptical of David's intentions because he's twice her age, fall for his urbane charms. And we do, too, Sarsgaard is so smooth — even though we should know better.
David is funny and attentive, generous and sweet. He takes good care of her and seems genuinely interested in spending time with her, never pressuring her to have sex. And under his tutelage, Jenny positively thrives. She was pleasingly cute in her schoolgirl uniforms, but once she begins dressing fashionably, wearing her long hair in a twist and carrying herself with a more sophisticated air, it's easy to see the gorgeous woman she was always meant to become. (And the details in the production and costume design are all flawless.)
Danish director Lone Scherfig and writer Nick Hornby find just the right touch here with some tricky material, based on the memoir by Lynn Barber. (It's a rare example of Hornby, author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, adapting someone else's work.) The challenge is: How to make David, and this ill-advised relationship, seem thrilling rather than creepy? Through Jenny's eyes, we get caught up in the excitement, too, but as bystanders we know it can't last — even before David's dark side starts to surface — and that's what gives An Education an inescapable tension.
Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike ideally round out David's clique as the wealthy, worldly Danny and his beautiful but vapid girlfriend, Helen. With the icy, blond looks of a Hitchcock femme fatale and a stylish wardrobe of gowns and furs, Helen may appear perfect but she's clueless when Jenny drops French phrases here and there in her speech, and their unlikely friendship provides An Education with some comic relief.
Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson also function as strong female role models in Jenny's life, co-starring as her English teacher and the school's headmistress, respectively. And Sally Hawkins, so lovely in Happy-Go-Lucky, has one great scene in which she provides Jenny with a less pleasant sort of education.
You may think you know where the film is going, but its ecstasy and heartbreak will stick with you afterward nonetheless. It's one of the year's best.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
