An Education Reviews and Ratings


  • hananperlman
    January 1, 2010
    hananperlman
    The idea was nice a bit drawn out. It had a few nice lines in it towards the end.
  • evankirby
    December 31, 2009
    evankirby
    The Cast Is Utterly Spectacular Without A Single Weak Link. Manages To Stay Away From Being Overtly Creepy Which Immensely Helps The Story But The Emotions As Well.
  • muttonman21
    December 30, 2009
    muttonman21
    Creepy romances haven't been this acceptable since Woody Allen's Manhattan... in movies, that is. I dunno about real life. Well, An Education may look off-putting when you read the synopsis: 16 year old Jenny falls for dude who's twice her age. Does that age differe...( read more)nce play out in the film? No, 'cause everyone's just hunky dory, including Jenny's parents. Maybe it's the time period, circa early 1960s. In any case, just what is An Education about?

    If you can look past the extreme age difference, you'll find a story about a charming young lass named Jenny, played by Carey Mulligan, who dreams of leaving the dull, strict, uptight, seemingly misogynist and racist society of England. Taking place in the early 1960s, there's no Boat to Rock the country's airwaves yet. Jenny's only escape is the chances she gets to read French books and listen to jazz... anything French related, including cigarettes, are her only medium of rebellion and gateway to a world beyond London's gates. Her ticket out is to study up, apply to Oxford and hope for the best. At least until she meets this older fellow named David, played by Peter Sarsgaard, who swoons her with his fatal charms. Thus begins an escapade of manipulating Jenny, and the audience as well, through embracing the arts and culture not really seen where Jenny comes from. It is this romance in which she'll get the education not taught in school. And she just doesn't become wiser about romance... but life in general. She is a priveliged lass, getting only the best kind of education rich parents could buy, and she is a very bright person... but like most persons her age, she can still be naive and seemingly carefree when having become overwhelmed by experiencing something new, or more appropriately, something she's only dreamed of.

    The film kinda falters to cliches and formulas, used to kinda exaggerate the absurdities of this uptight culture Jenny is stuck in and showing the kind of role she, as a female, is faced with from family to school. In a way, Jenny reminds me of the poor sap from A Serious Man. Both characters try to make sense of life when everyone else around 'em seem to kinda breeze through clueless (Jenny gets to this level later in the film). Oh, and both are stuck in the 1960s. Coincidence? I think NOT! Just kidding. At least this flick one instills some optimism.

    An Education is an alright flick, showing the importance of an education, even if it only implies it, and reminding how easily the fun things can blind us. Story-wise, it's by the books and only offers few insight... I kinda expected more since the film derived from an adapted screenplay written by Nick Hornby (author of High Fidelity). Carey Mulligan is quite charming and makes the film a tad better just for her presence alone; reminds me of a young Audrey Hepburn. Other than that, not sure why critics are falling head over heels for this flick. Doesn't mean it wasn't worth checking out. Like some other flicks, 'tis a good time capsule to become immersed in. And Carey Mulligan is adorable...
  • SheWhoMustNotBeNamed934
    December 29, 2009
    SheWhoMustNotBeNamed934
    WOAH...the moral of this fillm was dont trust playboys who are nearly twice your age and who drive vintage cars.....what a stupid schoolgirl!

    It was nice to see that she ended up at Oxford in the end!
  • mike0376
    December 29, 2009
    mike0376
    Parts of this were believable and parts of it were downright ridiclious. Was there supposed to be a lesson here? I don't think so. I wasn't even that sold on the acting job, which is what this movie is trying to use as a marketing plot. Sorry, didn't work for me. Wait for th...( read more)e rental.
  • sportsphenom1
    December 28, 2009
    sportsphenom1
    One of the best British films since "Matchpoint". A more sinister ending would have been more appropriate, but the overall tone, pacing, and writing of this film earns it a solid recommendation.
  • botiquerobo
    December 28, 2009
    botiquerobo
    such an amazing film with fulfilling dialogues delivered by Carey Mulligan... the cast was truly spectacular with Alfred Molina displaying his Oxford minded father figure and Peter Sarsgaard as the charming man who swept an enigmatic 16-year-old girl off of her feet. Wonderful fi...( read more)lm, definitely did not disappoint.
  • littlesheep28
    December 26, 2009
    littlesheep28
    I expected more from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, maybe it's better if he sticks to warm-hearted comedy. Overall it was a nice movie with a good message and charming charters. But there was a certain cheesiness, and shallowness and uncertainty that made the movie not as meaningfu...( read more)l as it intended to be.
  • divinetrash
    December 25, 2009
    divinetrash
    Carey Mulligan gives an outstanding performance that is at times sweet and smart and other times annoying and stupid, which is exactly how someone going through the motions at such young age acts all the time. She's a natural who really makes you feel the uncertainty of her chara...( read more)cter and makes her relatable both in wise and wrong decisions.
  • ray172
    December 25, 2009
    ray172
    I really liked this movie, solid story, great acting. A winner.
  • rayld02
    December 25, 2009
    rayld02

    Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard, with an affair to remember kind of meeting.

    An Education - a touchingly relevant movie I've seen this Christmas day. Last year, I saw Laurence Olivier...( read more)'s 1948 "Hamlet", Elia Kazan's 1954 "On the Waterfront", Robert Rossen's 1949 "All The King's Men", and William Wyler's 1946 "The Best Years of Our Lives" - old ones, but true great drama films to see on seasons like this. This year, I watched probably instant favorites, Clint Eastwood's "Invictus" and Lone Scherfig's "An Education".

    Can't get enough of Carey Mulligan's acting. She is such a sweetheart, with her looks, deceivingly younger than she appears to be. She has true great moments in this film, with feats to either make you feel bad about her being a hard-headed girl, or to make you feel good with her witty sense of humor.

    Carey Mulligan is always the center of attraction every time she appears on screen. How's that possible is maybe because she casts spells before her stepping in front of the camera. Well that's just an assumption of events, and I don't know either if that's true. Kidding aside, see the film to prove the offsets of my thoughts. (winks)

    Jenny, that's a name you'll always remember, and prematurely associate it with this film. We hear the name everytime, at sourest or sweetest of moments. That's because that's a name which merely signifies one great element of life. Everyone can be a "Jenny" at all points in our lives. Logically, everyone can be that center of attention, it's everyone's story - failure.

    Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a 16-year young high school student who aspires of setting foot in Oxford University. From the beginning of the frames, we see her as a humorous and active student. She participates in class discussions and so on. Average though, but quite capable. Her father Jack (Alfred Molina) and mother Marjorie (Cara Seymour) push her to work hard for her education, and become a privileged student of the well-known university.

    Jenny is a fan of all sorts of arts; music, paintings, films hugely interests her way of thinking and lifestyle. She is also a fan of great writers and philosophies from books.

    Jenny is a cello-player. On her way from school to home, she meets a middle-age Jew named David Goldman (Peter Sarsgaard). The man offers Jenny a ride home reasoning that he cannot stand seeing the cello getting all soaked up in the pouring rain. And everything has never been the same for her from that moment on.

    It's a story of boy meets girl. Maybe your typical love story introduction, boy asks girl, they get along, and fall in love. But it's more of a story of learning to decide without short cuts. Because life isn't just a one way short street, it's a long and winding road (just like the Beatles' song) with unrelenting crossroads to make us falter and fall at most times. But that's the essence of living, we cannot get along all the way without failures. Yet failures make us the individuals we are right now. Like what the great French author Gabriel Marcel once said, that sufferings are more important than happiness (it is implied though). It's one's decisions that make him true justifiably happy or not (very existentialist eh?). It's one's decisions and he himself could only make differences in the plot of his life. None is written, and fate is nothing, because fate is just a passive cognition of the word decide - opposite to what "Slumdog Millionaire" insists.

    An Education strikes me at my faintest of emotions. It tackles simple yet relevant topic that connotes something beautiful - being a failure doesn't stop you from living. Schooling is one thing, education is different. Not all you learn from books are essentially applicable, but everything you experience and learn from living makes a human inside your existence.

    The film gives us a tantamount feel of Romanticism. from the set light decorations and the music unnoticeably playing on the background. The pictures are really breath-taking. Thanks to it's cinematographer John De Borman, who by all effort has extracted a feeling of good ambiance in scenes. Another compelling element of the film's success is its screenplay. It's poetic, words go by in perfect timing and of right amount relative to the delivery of script.

    Watch the movie and talk aboit it with your friends. It may be a good idea to ready your notes and learn from everybody's shared thoughts.





    The first parts of the film is a happy story of love. But my instincts say that there is something wrong with Sarsgaard being too good to be true kind of guy. I loved Sargaard's acting but I hate his character, a big piece of selfish trash. Instantly I felt an aroused sympathy for Jenny the moment I learned about David's intrepid lying. It's a heart-breaking film, with much more thoughts and wonderings after effect than "(500) Days of Summer" and "Casablanca" say must I.
  • merillupin
    December 22, 2009
    merillupin
    I wish I were Carey Mulligan in this film. Jenny leads an idyllic existence alongside David, until the screenwriter realizes he needs to add some conflict somewhere, and things end more than abruptly. Despite the unfulfilling ending, I found An Education delightful, in large part...( read more) due to Mulligan, who manages to be pretty AND smart AND charming, and somehow not annoy me!
  • ukxenafan1
    December 21, 2009
    ukxenafan1
    Really good performances in an engaging period/social drama. 16 year old Jenny and her well meaning parents fall for a suave older man, David, who shows Jenny a world beyond Latin and English and A levels. It is no real surprise when he turns out not to be quite so perfect, but i...( read more)t is not really the plot that makes this film enjoyable, it is the atmosphere and the characters and performances. Mulligan has grabbed a lot of headlines, and she is indeed excellent. Her portrayal of Jenny is immensely likeable and sympathetic - fairly crucial as the film would not have worked if you didn't feel for Jenny. I was less of a fan of Peter Sarsgaard's David. He struggles with the accent and from the start is rather creepy. The rest of the supporting cast is uniformly excellent however. Alfred Molina an adorably daft dad, Olivia Williams as Jenny's prim English teacher, Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike as David's feckless friends, even tiny turns from Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins.
    At times I was unsure the story was strong enough, but the performances are what made this film for me.
  • sabrina2011
    December 20, 2009
    sabrina2011
    quite intriguing. :]
  • pgcnlngn
    December 20, 2009
    pgcnlngn
    its the real thing for a teenage girl......its educational!
  • kakasss
    December 20, 2009
    kakasss
    nhs felm yuor gooood
  • movieguyryan
    December 19, 2009
    movieguyryan
    Carey Mulligan performance in this film has been critically praise, even striking some comparisons to the actress Audrey Hepburn, and rightfully so. She completely owns this role in a film that should be the new definition for the word charming. Carefully directed, beautifully sh...( read more)ot, and a well crafted story that always seems to steer the film is the right direction.
  • lenorelim
    December 19, 2009
    lenorelim
    i and andreas must see
  • smith44
    December 19, 2009
    smith44
    Carey Mulligan is a Sensation, this girl is the real deal, totally encompassing her role, creating a vividly luicd character. A lock for a nomination, perhaps even a winner. All told An Education is an excellent film, beautiful to watch, with great poigancy in its social commenta...( read more)ry and ulimate ending.
  • chiraj02007
    December 19, 2009
    chiraj02007
    i want to see this flim soon
  • hypathio7
    December 18, 2009
    hypathio7
    Reminded me a bit of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Granted that movie is not very fresh in my mind, and as I watched this, I thought they were set around the same time. However, that other film was made around the time this story is set (in the 60's), but was itself set in the...( read more) 1930's. In that other English girls' school drama Maggie Smith is the central figure, a liberal feminist teacher sharing romantic ideals of beauty and art with her impressionable students. In An Education you have the reverse. The central figure is Carey Mulligan as the student Jenny. She is drawn into a highly romanticized love affair with an older man. She is quite literate and yearns for the sort of exciting life the women in her novels experience. No older female influence is needed to push her, well Pike as Helen helps her feel more grown up as Jenny double dates with David and his friends Danny and Helen. Olivia Williams, who as the English teacher appears past her prime to Jenny, and Emma Thompson as the Headmistress try to advocate staying in school and getting a college education, so that the young women don't have to rely on a man to take care of their every need. What seems like an exciting cultured life of seeing Paris and appreciating the finer things must be weighed against a boring several years of reading textbooks and writing papers. I wonder if Lynn Barber, the author of the memoir on which this movie is based, had read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or seen the movie version during her youth.
  • melvin6561
    December 18, 2009
    melvin6561
    its goin to be interesting
  • moonrivers
    December 17, 2009
    moonrivers
    ah yeeesssss, what's it to be then, "the good life", fast and easy (it sure looks good in the movies!), or that oh-so-boring alternative with all that WORK (what in the dickens is THAT all about????)? the bbc alone makes attention to the little details (like a decent script) see...( read more)m droll (when in fact it's a riduculously precious commodity) and do so again here. a quiet and tough little film indeed with a well rounded cast hitting on all cylinders.
  • 366weirdmovies
    December 16, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A 16-year old Oxford-bound schoolgirl falls in love with a worldly older man. Well-done, believable coming-of-age tale with excellent performances, realistic characterizations, and few surprises.
  • cuadratours
    December 16, 2009
    cuadratours
    para que vayamos al cine
  • SaxophoneScone
    December 15, 2009
    SaxophoneScone
    carey mulligan looks great!
  • lauralee10491
    December 15, 2009
    lauralee10491
    has a wonderful entriguing storyline,something i think others can learn from......
    seems as though all of us have reach that stage at some point in our lives,forced to make critical decisions......TO BE OR NOT TO BE!! THE FAMOUS QUESTION.....
  • godsrighthandman
    December 15, 2009
    godsrighthandman
    Great performances by Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina can't rescue this story from its familiar trappings and predictable ending
  • juanchi119
    December 14, 2009
    juanchi119
    Too preachy for my taste.
  • adfill7
    December 12, 2009
    adfill7
    A delightful drama with great performances, especially newcomer Carey Mulligan, but the real problem with the movie is the last five minutes, which are entirely too rushed.
  • spiralrayonshorts
    December 11, 2009
    spiralrayonshorts
    If Carey Mulligan doesn't become a big star there is something wrong with this world..she is so good in this I want to see her in more movies.
  • captainXiero
    December 8, 2009
    captainXiero
    When I read the review of this in Empire I wasn't sure what it was gonna be like but it ended up being amazing.
  • ozq
    December 4, 2009
    ozq
    Was a little anti-climax for me when all was revealed, because the mystery had been built up really well. Overall a pretty interesting film, with fine acting from the cast.
  • kellirmarshall
    December 3, 2009
    kellirmarshall
    I don't usually use the word LOVELY to describe anything, but it fits here: AN EDUCATION is a lovely little film.
  • FangsFirst
    December 2, 2009
    FangsFirst
    I had two free passes to the local arthouse styled theatre that were running out Monday, so I decided to go see whatever the heck was showing. One film was House of the Devil, a throwback horror film that I truly loved, the other was a film that I thought sounded like the ...( read more)kind I might pick up on a whim (lo, it was released by Sony Pictures Classics, an arm of Sony I trust pretty blindly to do right by me)--this one. I knew the essence of the plot, but tried to keep my readings vague, so as to avoid spoiling any of it, this being my preference when I see any film. I knew only the name Peter Sarsgaard of the primary cast and had never heard of Danish director Lone Scherfig.

    Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a 16 year old prep school student in 1961 Twickenham, London who plans to go to Oxford and then "become French," living in France, reading French literature, speaking French, eating French food, and smoking constantly. Her father Jack (Alfred Molina) discourages her from doing anything that does not further her education (barring those things which are appreciated by acceptance boards at Oxford), even things like playing her cello, which he notes will impress Oxford as a "hobby," but then continues need not be practiced as it is a "hobby." Her mother Majorie (Cara Seymour) tries to smooth things between them as Jenny tests her father's "rules," attempting to reason him into allowing her some ideas. Jenny has a fledgling romance with orchestra-mate Graham (Matthew Beard) until the poor boy makes the mistake of suggesting he might take a year off from school, which does not earn the respect of Jack. One rainy day after orchestra rehearsal, Jenny is approached from a car by a man who offers to at least shield her cello from the rain as she walks home by placing it in his car. Jenny's amused by the man's charm, and he introduces himself as David (Sarsgaard) and strikes up a conversation, eventually getting herself out of the rain alongside her cello in David's sportscar. Slowly taken with him and running into him periodically, Jenny begins to accept offers from David when he gives her the opportunity to experience the culture she so loves and admires--concerts, jazz bars, art auctions and so on. He introduces her to his friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike), and begins to take her further and further out into the world, all the while slowly romancing her. His charm works even on Jack and Majorie, allowing this to happen with their consent. A trip to Oxford pushes at Jenny's principles, but she finds herself torn between a small moral capitulation and the chance to have a "real life."

    Of course, once I saw the cast appear onscreen, I realized instantly that there was another name here I knew very well: Alfred Molina. In fact, this knowledge was humourous to me as I watched Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes and the segment with Molina and Steve Coogan showed, where the joke was how unknown Molina was--when the opposite was true for me. Of course, I also know the screenwriter, Nick Hornby, albeit primarily from the Americanized film version of High Fidelity. Still these were primarily passing knowledge, especially Hornsby and Sarsgaard. The synposis I read led me to expect something far more drastic was hiding behind these scenes than actually turned out, so I was surprised in this respect, and it probably helped to keep my understanding of the film "in line" with its intentions. It's worth noting here that it is an adaptation of journalist Lynn Barber's actual experiences, and that this often shores up some seemingly unusual choices.

    The most interesting role by far is that of David, as Sarsgaard is forced, as many have put it, to walk the line between charming and creepy. He is charming and does not come across as purely sleazy, despite being a 30-something man romancing a 16 year old girl, though I did spend half the movie with fingertips placed at my forehead in a sort of preliminary (or perhaps vestigial?) representation of the desire to hide the film from my eyes. I was hideously uncomfortable for a lot of it. I was perhaps too charmed by David myself, but could not shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong anyway. I'm a little more open-minded than most, I suppose, as I roll my eyes at those who called American Beauty a sick film about a pedophile, but I had great difficulty stopping myself from slumping down further and further into my seat and squirming at many moments (the scene involving pet names was particularly excruciating). I can't say it was a flaw, but it was a bit of a problem. I suppose I was really directed very perfectly into the place of Jenny herself, torn between the allure of an exciting life and the responsibility of the one that is hard and boring but theoretically the "best" choice. At the same time, there was a definite feeling that it was entirely too easy to see how she was deceived, and yet wish she wouldn't be. Jenny is not stupid, she is very clever in her interactions with everyone, but she's so thoroughly charmed by David that she's easily taken in by him, but especially because he brings her all the things she wants.

    The central concept is the variable defintion of "education," being either the worldly education offered by David or that of Oxford, with various tangential definitions, such as learning about life via the parts of David that were not showing originally. It's a valid argument that Jenny gives her Headmistress--that there is no one telling the students why, exactly, they must get an education--except to go on and use that dull, hard, boring education to live a dull, hard, boring life. It makes the choice of David seem obvious, yet, at the same time, we know (hopefully!) is not so simple as all of that. There's no good argument (at least none I've heard) against Jenny's, but at the same time there's an understanding, for me at least, that other paths are more difficult or simply aren't as good as they seem to be. It's nice that the film doesn't attempt to truly explain or answer this question, even if it does show Lynn Barber's actual decisions and life at the end, what she chooses to pursue and follow for her life. She admits that she has aged but not become experienced or wise because of the events she takes part in, which seems a good way of putting it.
  • ViktorExhumed
    November 30, 2009
    ViktorExhumed
    It works out well and up to a point, originaly, some aspects of human relations, but then it leaves others undeveloped. I wanted more story centered on loosing one's life over meeting the "phantom" social guideline that a formal education is. But it is there and not there, the ro...( read more)mance takes over. Plus, I hated the perfect ending, too moralizing "stay in school" kind of stuff, the cliche damages the film a lot.
  • threefolddado
    November 29, 2009
    threefolddado
    A film every teenage girl should see, although I also highly recommend it to everyone else. Well acted (just look at that cast), well scripted (witty and entertaining throughout) and well directed. What more could you ask for?
  • ElDuderinoLebowski
    November 28, 2009
    ElDuderinoLebowski
    Aside from it's overly tidy conclusion, this is great for those interested in a romance which actually contains a great deal of substance. Despite it's taboo storyline, it manages to keep that possibility of awkwardness out of the way, thanks to the performances of Mulligan and S...( read more)arsgaard.
  • loverlybird
    November 23, 2009
    loverlybird
    After seeing this movie, I'm truly wondering why it was made. Sure, Alfred Molina is great, but that's about the only thing that is enjoyable about it. The story is predictable from the first minute, and I spent the entire thing in agony because of the characters unlikely poor ju...( read more)dgement.
  • robinmich
    November 22, 2009
    robinmich
    Quite superb; I kept finding myself smiling at this really likable film. Carey Mulligan was quite brilliant and if she does become a great actress then something is wrong with the media.
  • jschartrand
    November 20, 2009
    jschartrand
    I don't quite understand the hype around this movie. Yes it's fine, yes the direction is, in a way, competent, the interpretations are good (Molina shines as always and Carey Mulligan is promising), Sarsgaard is not specially interesting, but gosh, what's new in this? It,s so.. S...( read more)oft and, like she would say in my position *déjà vu*.
  • 3LB
    November 16, 2009
    3LB
    carey mulligan's performance is as good as advertised. she's definitely getting a best actress nomination.
  • sarahgoode
    November 16, 2009
    sarahgoode
    Based on Lynn Barber's memoir, the movie tells a coming-of-age story of a teen girl, Jenny, living in the suburbs of London in the 1960s. As a smart, intelligent girl she seems to have a bright future ahead of her, but her life changes after meeting an older playboy who is nearl...( read more)y twice her age.

    This is certainly a talent-driven drama and both Peter Sarsgaard and newbie Carey Mulligan deliver fabulous performances. I think this film will certainly help launch Mulligan's acting career (especially if it lands her an Oscar-nom). She was perfectly cast as young Jenny, a girl exploring her own desires and learning who she is. "Mulligan is the film's headline, pulse and revelation," wrote TIME Magazine's Richard Corliss. "In its blithely subversive way, her starmaking performing is a co-conspirator with the movie. Both of them win you over with smart talk and pretty feelings, then kick you in the heart."

    The film currently has an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomato and has received rave reviews. In fact, Oscar buzz is already circulating. Caludia Pulg of USA Today called the story "fresh and thoroughly captivating," while LA Time's Kenneth Turan said it was "invariably funny and inexpressibly moving." Overall, this was a great story that examined women's roles in the world of the 1960s. I thought the ending could have been slightly stronger, but this is a minor complaint. Don't miss this one
  • 00Film
    November 14, 2009
    00Film
    i was defs very reluctant going in2 this film.....but it was a VERY plesant surprise....carey mulligan was such a breathe of fresh air....great story and great per4mnce
  • JediAlex
    November 14, 2009
    JediAlex
    Looks like it could be good...
  • Nenebelle
    November 14, 2009
    Nenebelle
    Recommended by scottydgibbs.
  • lynnew212
    November 11, 2009
    lynnew212
    Faithful to its source text it is a lovingly crafted film with charm and excellent period detail.
  • analogrombus
    November 10, 2009
    analogrombus
    Amazing. Well acted, well written. You really should see this movie. If you can stand the accents.

Summary

An Education Summary