Flicks-a-saurus Rex

An Education –

Director – Lone Scheig

Starring – Olivia Williams, Peter Sarsgaard, with Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson

MPAA - Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual content, and for smoking.

Nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture, “An Education” is a brilliant coming-of-age drama full of unpredictable twists and laced with a script worthy of its Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Not comparable with the machine gun dialogue of “Inglourious Basterds”, An Education is a marvel in its own right.




What I liked best about this film what that I had no idea what to expect from the plot. Far from the cookie cutter romantic comedies that have laid siege to American Cinema, instead we have a twisting, weaving plot that never quite lets the audience know what they are in for; is this comedy or drama, a little of both, what? What will happen to the lovely Carey Mulligan’s Jenny, the 17-year-old school girl whose plans for Oxford may come to a screeching halt at the new lifestyle introduced to her by the smooth talking and dashing David (played by Peter Sarsgaard)?
Jenny runs into the wealthy playboy Jenny as she is walking home in a drenching downpour. He gives her a lift home and we are all charmed by his “Ewan McGregor” smile, and his gentlemanly actions. His age is undetermined but he is vastly older than Jenny by a good 10 years.



However he still wins over Jenny and her parents and introduces Jenny to a night life of extravagant luxury that seems to blind Jenny from her goals. What will happen, is this love for real, is this a Cinderella story, or is it a story in the fashion of Citizen Kane and the corruption of money? The plot takes you in both directions simultaneously charming you while arousing suspicion.

I don’t know if the performances are award winning, but they are convincing. The acting is better than most films, and the beautiful cinematography reminds us of the Audrey Hepburn classics. Jenny and David visit Paris together and all I could think about was the magic in “Sabrina” or another 60’s era film. I enjoyed this film far more than many of its Best Picture Nominee counterparts and it definitely deserved the recognition. An Education is a winner without a doubt. It takes you deep into the life of a young woman and helps us all to see the effect our decisions have on our family and others. This is a four star film, a 9 out of 10 in all respects.



Sex/Nudity – 6 out of 10 – There are a few sexual situations between a sixteen-year-old girl and a thirty-something man. One seen she takes off her top and shows him her bare breasts, we see only her bare shoulders and he puts her shirt back on. The two of them discuss having sex and her losing her virginity to him, however we only see them ever kiss once or twice. One scene we see a man laying in bed bare chested, a woman stands in a window, it is assumed they had sex a few moments before.

Violence/ Gore – None

Profanity – 4 out of 10 - Some religious exclamations, five or six mild profanities, a few racial slurs.