My Review: 'An Education'

A suburban London teen finds her traditional education replaced by something slightly more sinister when an older, more worldly suitor sweeps her off of her feet while placing her future in jeopardy. London, 1961: 16-year-old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is smart, attractive, and eager to start her adult life. She's grown tired of the familiar adolescent routine, so when urbane newcomer David (Peter Sarsgaard) appears in town, Jenny senses a rare opportunity to shake things up a bit. Quickly falling under David's spell, the impressionable Jenny begins accompanying her newfound beau to classical concerts, art auctions, crowded pubs, and dinners that stretch into the small hours of the night. But Jenny is brighter than most kids her age, and her parents always dreamt of getting their exceptional daughter into Oxford. These days it seems like she's headed in a different direction — will David ultimately be her undoing, or the person who helps her finally realize her true potential?

An Education was so good, it might be my favorite movie, in I don't know how long. I've always loved Peter Sarsgaard, and this performance will hopefully bring him all the praise and awards he deserves. He was absolutely brilliant as the tormented, creepy older man, who falls for the beautiful, smart and naive 16 year old girl.  Carey Mulligan  is absolutely gorgeous, and her performance makes you stop and say 'Who is this girl!'. She is such an amazing actress, I can't wait to see her next films.

There are so many things to love about this movie.  For one - the acting is absolutely Oscar worthy. If Peter and Carey don't come away with Oscar nominations, I will be absolutely shocked.  The second is the cinematography.  Each scene is more beautiful than the next, and the atmosphere almost becomes a character in and of it's own.  It was like you could pause each scene, and it could be a work of art.

There were so many amazing actors in this film, every time a new character was introduced, I was shocked to see them! There were characters played by Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper and Sally Hawker (Happy Go Lucky).

It was one of those films that I'm happy to have seen because I know it's going to really take off. You know when you see a really amazing movie and you just know you've seen something special? It really is that amazing. I know the critics are going to love it, and I know I'll be seeing this on Oscar day. 

Bottom line: An Education is absolutely brilliant. I'm going to see this movie again, just in case I missed anything the first time. You won't be disappointed, it really is THAT GOOD.

Check here to see when An Education opens in your town!