Marshall and the Movies

In the age of the booming blockbuster, independent cinema is in dire need of a movie that can appeal to a blooming generation of teenage moviegoers if sophisticated cinema is to survive.  I couldn’t be more pleased to report that “An Education” is that movie.  Although it is the type of movie that typically plays best with adults, it has the power to resonate among younger viewers unlike any movie of its kind.  Director Lone Scherfig’s clear understanding of the mind of teenagers radiates from as early as the opening credits, where sine graphs and frog diagrams devolve into hearts.  Thankfully, her vision is complemented by phenomenal performances and a sensational script that easily makes for one of the best moviegoing experiences of the year.

Jenny, the film’s heroine played with a stunning mastery by Carey Mulligan, is a character with struggles that people at crossroads in life can still appreciate many decades after the movie is set.  Sadly, she faces the same problem of creating a “college identity” separate from her regular identity that still plagues teenagers today.  Her parents (Alfred Molina and Carey Seymour) make sure that she has all the interests and hobbies necessary for her to fit the Oxford bill, obliging her to partake in activities that she loathes.  Through the process, Jenny begins to feel somewhat uneasy about going to spend four years doing something “hard and boring” with her nose in a book at a university only to end up in a “hard and boring” career for the rest of her life.  She reasons, however, to go against the grain would mean throwing away years of her life dedicated to looking impressive on an application, but still the desire remains for something beyond the education that a textbook can provide.

Almost as if an answer to an unspoken prayer, a chance encounter with the charming, older David (Peter Sarsgaard) gives Jenny a taste of a captivating world where the formalities of her schooling rank substantially below the proclivities for enjoyment.  Gradually, David’s outlook rubs off on Jenny, and she becomes willing to throw out what she has worked so many years for to enter the materialistic world that he inhabits.  For all those who think Jenny’s judgement is being impaired by an infatuation for love, what is she doing other than indulging a yearning that all students have had?  Her curious exploration into a very adult world ultimately leads her to a course she had never expected to be enrolled in – a crash course in adulthood.

“An Education” is one of those rare gems that does not owe its success to one particular aspect; the whole film shines from all of its elements working together.  The one that glimmers the brightest, though, is Carey Mulligan, who cements her name in stardom with this performance.  She has drawn, and earned, comparisons to the great Audrey Hepburn.  The face and the hairdo bear a likeness, but I found that that the understated grace and poise that Mulligan gives to Jenny is what evoked Hepburn’s resemblance.  This knack, something seldom seen nowadays, gives her performance a very old-time feel and makes the movie a delight to watch.  But the real marvel of Mulligan’s acting is that the old-fashioned spirit does not make her character some kind of antique.  In fact, I found Jenny to be extremely relatable, the paradigm of how times change but the attitudes of teenagers do not.

Mulligan’s performance is bolstered by a terrific and numerous supporting cast.  Peter Sarsgaard is a delight and smooth as can be.  His acting doesn’t leave us drawing blanks as to why Jenny is so willing to abandon her former conception of where her life would go.  Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson are powerful with the little time they have as the two main opponents to Jenny’s new lifestyle.  The performance that will probably go criminally unheralded is Rosamund Pike as one of David’s companions.  She is the typical “dumb blonde” stereotype, but she brings her own flair to it in a way that makes the tired stock character seem brand new.  When she is on screen, you can’t help but grin.  However, among the ensemble, the real standout is Alfred Molina as Jenny’s father.  Despite being a stern authoritarian when it comes to educational matters, Molina brings an all-encompassing charm that lets us know that he cares for her greatly (but with the values of a fading generation).  His presence lends a warm feel to the movie that blends well with all the other pleasant sentiments the movie radiates.

Acclaimed novelist Nick Hornby (“About a Boy”) penned the film’s sublimely enchanting screenplay.  He acknowledges the gravity of the themes he presents but also packs his script full of wit.  In fact, the film has the feel of a serious comedy as supposed to a funny drama.  But the true achievement of “An Education” is not just entertaining audiences; it has the power to bring generations of moviegoers together.  A /