An Education (2009)
By: Lone Scherfig (director), Lynn Barber (memoir), Nick Hornby (screenplay)
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina, Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson
A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
If something Nick Hornby writes is made into a movie, chances are I’m going to love it, and An Education is no exception. Coming-of-age stories are a dime a dozen, but this one manages to rise above the stale concepts that tend to drag down so many similar films. Well-acted and beautifully-made, it’s easy to see why it’s been so widely praised.
One of the things I enjoyed most about An Education was that I didn’t know how it was going to turn out. The story felt familiar, but not in a trite or cookie-cutter way; like real life, you just never know how things will ultimately end. The characters feel genuine despite not being like anyone I’ve ever known. They’re a bit like friends once removed, the sort of people you imagine to exist but only hear stories about. Combined with the lush period details and intimate cinematography, it makes for something very believable and engaging.
Every nomination this film has garnered (And there have been many), it certainly deserves. It is at once extraordinary and incredibly human, and I really can’t recommend it enough.
Every time I see a shitty movie featuring offensive depictions of women, I tell people to see this movie instead.