Back home

An Education

1404 votes

Producing House

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 2009-10-29

Runtime: 100 mins

Director: Lone Scherfig

Spoken language: English

Genres: Drama, Romance

Original title: An Education

Production Companies: BBC Film, Wildgaze Films, Endgame Entertainment

Production Countries: United Kingdom

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
Sixteen year old "Jenny" (Carey Mulligan) lives with her aspiring, middle class, parents "Jack" (Alfred Molina) and "Marjorie" (Cara Seymour) whose only real desire in life is for her to study at Oxford University. This is and has been her sole focus throughout her childhood, until, that is - she encounters the dashing "David" (Peter Skarsgard). He's easily twice her age but is so much more stimulating than her schoolboy friend "Graham" (Matthew Beard). This isn't a sweep her off her feet relationship, he gradually engages her in conversation and finds they share common interests. He makes her feel special, interesting, grown up - and when he introduces her to his friends "Danny" (Dominic Cooper) and "Helen" (Rosamund Pike) she starts to feel like the proper fourth wheel on a social wagon that's truly exhilarating. Needless to say, her schoolwork starts to suffer - much to the chagrin of her teacher (Olivia Williams) and, like we all were at that age, there's no telling her that her short term path is not necessarily in her long term interests. As the film develops, we discover that though harmless enough, "David" and his pal are a pair of cads who make their living legally, but maybe just a little immorally - and when "Jenny" discovers that he has one whopping great (if predictable) skeleton in his closet, she has to put her new found maturity to good use. There's something very natural not just about Mulligan's performance here, but also about her burgeoning relationship with a man who knows just which buttons to press. He's not a nasty man, he has no agenda to get her straight into bed, indeed he seems just as dependent on having this young woman around to make him feel alive as she does him; and those characterisations proves quite effective. The star for me, though, was probably Molina. He portrays almost perfectly a father whose dreams for his daughter partnered with his own middle-class mores leaves him caught between his paternal instincts to protect his daughter and his ambitions that she live a better, more fulfilled, life than he. It does run out of steam a little at the end, but then again I'm not quite sure how I would have wanted it to conclude without copping out - one way or another, so maybe it is for the best. It looks classy, the 1960s cars, costumes and soundtrack see to that and it's well worth a watch,
2024-07-18

Recommendations

Ernstfall in Havanna
2.7

Ernstfall in Havanna

2002-03-14

Stefan Balsiger is a congenial, average councillor to the Swiss embassy in Havanna. While accompanyi

Not Cool
1.7

Not Cool

2014-09-23

Former prom king Scott returns home for Thanksgiving break and gets dumped by his long-term girlfrie

Salaam-e-Ishq
2.4

Salaam-e-Ishq

2007-01-26

Six couples who do not know each other are brought together by destiny, fate and love

Holiday in Santa Fe
3

Holiday in Santa Fe

2021-12-10

Sparks fly when a greeting card executive arrives in Santa Fe to acquire a tight-knit family company

Women's Prison
2.9

Women's Prison

2002-10-06

Spanning 18 years in an Iranian women's prison, this follows two women: the new prison warden, a tou

Die Löwin
0

Die Löwin

2012-01-02

After many years in Germany, the young doctor Lena returns to South Africa, the place of her childho

Is Mausi Coming Out?
1.5

Is Mausi Coming Out?

1995-06-07

Kati leaves her hometown - a small provincetown in northwestern Germany - to live in the city of Ham

The Unyielding Life of Things
5

The Unyielding Life of Things

2022-05-04

Rhea is a 24-year-old woman who has just moved into a new house with her husband. Over the course of

Veronika Decides to Die
3

Veronika Decides to Die

2009-05-16

After a frantic suicide attempt, Veronika awakens inside a mysterious mental asylum. Under the super

Moscow Zero
1.6

Moscow Zero

2006-11-05

In Moscow, the priest Owen hires a team to guide him in the underworld to find his friend Sergei tha

Amsterdam
1.9

Amsterdam

2009-05-10

A rich American couple, a family of Dutch criminals, a French gay couple, a working class family fro

Killer Diller
2.6

Killer Diller

2004-01-01

A guitar playing car thief meets an autistic savant piano player, and together they transform a grou

Home Movie
2.5

Home Movie

2008-10-23

Reverend David Poe and his psychiatrist wife trade hectic New York life for an idyllic rural farmhou

Tex
3

Tex

1982-07-30

After their mother dies and their father leaves them, teenage brothers Tex and Mason McCormick strug

She Paradise
2.6

She Paradise

2021-06-14

17 year old Sparkle discovers a free spirited group of Soca dancers at a car show in the bustling st

Better Than Sex
2.9

Better Than Sex

2000-11-09

After a one-night stand a couple is faced with the terrifying possibility of what they really want.

Schoßgebete
2.5

Schoßgebete

2014-09-18

A comedy centered on a sexually adventurous young woman who is trying to be the perfect wife, mother

Desire in Motion
2.2

Desire in Motion

1994-01-01

During the long train ride from Montreal to Vancouver, a man and woman find themselves increasingly

Bring mich nach Hause
3

Bring mich nach Hause

2021-10-25

Sandra and Ulrike have to decide the fate of their mother, who falls into a coma due to a ruptured a

A Beautiful Journey
0

A Beautiful Journey

Ex-swimming champion Mary now works as a mermaid at the New York Aquarium, struggling to raise her 7