An Education - B+

In theaters. Rated R, 95 minutes. Trailer.

You work hard and sacrifice in school to get into a good school. Then you work hard and sacrifice in that school to get into another good school so that you can get a good job. Then you work hard and sacrifice in that job so you can provide for your family. In An Education, a brilliant but naive almost 17 year old named Jenny (Carey Mulligan) meets an older man with an exciting and seemingly effortless and glamorous lifestyle that causes her to question whether she wants to get caught up in the work hard and sacrifice cycle or live an interesting and 'character' filled life (she doesn't see any other option). Click below for more EDUCATION:

Jenny eschews the boring, safe and insulated lives her parents and her teachers lead and is looking forward to getting into Oxford so she can explore all of the things she is interested in but that her parents deem as frivolous (french music, film etc). When a chance meeting with a charming older (30ish) man named David (Peter Sarsgaard) turns into a surprisingly tame courtship, her world is opened up. David is able to charm her parents into permissiveness and takes her from her suburban London home into the city for concerts, auctions and the like. As their relationship matures, her resentment of her teachers and parents grows to a fever pitch. Spoilers prevent further discussion of the somewhat surprising resolution of the story.

This one could have been great, but never really got there. The themes explored aren't new, but they are explored carefully and from an interesting perspective in 1961 England. There are 3 or 4 quality speeches in the film, but it didn't live up to the hype. Jenny is subtly played against the wife of one of David's friends, Helen (Rosamund Pike) - with interesting results. Helen is beautiful but stupid while Jenny is 'kinda cute' but super smart and intellectually curious. Ultimately the film shows Jenny as the better catch because of her unique gifts and taste. This was a rare departure in today's culture to show how attractive a smart woman can be.

My own life experience dictated that I identify most strongly with Jenny's father (Alfred Molina), though I also find kinship with Jenny's questioning of her proscribed life. Molina's performance is great, but his character's actions are too unbelievable for me to buy - maybe things were different in 1961, but I don't really see a good, conservative father letting his 16 year old go out on a date with a 30+ year old man, or even talk to someone that age. Still, the performance is touching and I especially loved his money speech.

Mulligan is truly remarkable as the smart but naive burgeoning woman. She conveys the emotions of Jenny through a remarkable performance - restrained but emotional. Sarsgaard is predictably great, his charming manner and ease tempered by something else under the eyes.

The film is co-written by Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) and is directed by the relatively unknown Lone Scherfig. Here is a long video interview with Scherfig (spoilers in the video).