An Education

So, I was looking over my options for Best Picture. I thought I was going to watch Precious today, but at the last moment I shifted gears completely and saw An Education. Seven down, three to go.

You know, I honestly hadn’t even heard of this movie before the Best Picture nominations came out. I was reading through the list and most of them I had at least heard of in passing at least. So, this one threw me through a loop. So, I did some studying and discovered that I really didn’t know anyone in the cast other than Peter Sarsgaard (which I don’t care much for either), and Spiderman 2’s Alfred Molina. I was at least excited for Molina, I’ve enjoyed him in tons of movies such as The Hoax,The Da Vinci Code, and even his brief appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Well, I began watching An Education and was quite pleased at the upbeat music at the beginning and was ready to be thoroughly entertained. I feel like they tried to throw you off with the music. We’re introduced to a small family in a suburb of London in 1961. A father played by Molina, a mother played by Cara Seymour, a fairly unknown actress at least to me, and their sixteen year old daughter Jenny, played by yet another unknown named Carry Mulligan (who is also up for Best Actress for this movie).

Jenny is a girl aspiring to go to Oxford when she finishes with her schooling. She’s a straight A student and a cello player. On her way home in the rain one day she meets a man named David (played by Sarsgaard) who offers her cello a ride home because she shouldn’t ride with strangers. Well, they get to talking and start a relationship, despite the huge age difference which no one seems to mind.

So David starts showing Jenny the good life and shows that life isn’t just about school and he starts to teach her life experience. She meets his friends and go to dinners and shows together and just act like a normal couple. Well, that is until David starts showing his true colors near the hour mark.

I don’t want to give the ending away, but I kind of guessed it shortly after the movie began. This movie to me was fairly unremarkable and I’m fairly confused as to why this was chosen as a Best Picture nominee, and if it wins, then my faith in the academy will be lost.

The acting was about the only thing going for this movie in my opinion. I wouldn’t mind seeing Mulligan take the Best Actress Oscar, but I wouldn’t care if she didn’t. Alfred Molina kind of stole the show as her overprotective father.

The editing really seemed rushed at points. There were several scenes that felt really choppy. It didn’t confuse me, but it bugged me. The plot, like I said earlier, was fairly unremarkable and predictable. It was a case of 'Should I go to college or should I be with the man I love?'. Apparently, in the 1960's, you couldn't have both.

So, there’s not really much more that I can say about this film. Did I enjoy it? I didn’t hate it, that’s about the only way I can answer that question, but I wasn’t impressed at all. I give it 4 out of 10.