An Education, Daddy’s Little Girl No More

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/17/2009 – “The crew started treating me like a 12 year-old,” says An Education star Carey Mulligan, who as a 22-year-old had to return to wearing a school uniform and filming in a classroom. “I felt horrid in the school uniform. During a scene in the classroom, I started to think ‘God, this is SO boring!’ I realized just in time that I’d fallen back into schoolgirl mode and I needed to snap out of it. When you’re younger, you don’t realize that you can hurt people by what you say.”

An Education follows Jenny, played by Carey Mulligan, as she changes from a girl of 16 into a woman of 17. A chance meeting with David, played by Peter Sarsgaard, speeds up that change and entangles Jenny in a love affair she may not be ready for. Seducing her parents as successfully as he seduces her, David pulls Jenny away from her schoolbooks into a grown up world.

“A lot of people reading the script for the first time responded to the betrayal, the idea of being misled by someone who turns out to be other than they originally seemed,” says An education producer Amanda Posey. “We thought from the outset that it was a universal tale.”

“It’s sort of freakish that Carey is able to play a 16 year-old girl.,” says An Education screenwriter Nick Hornby. “When you see her in the schoolgirl scenes, you think, ‘Hey! You can’t have someone sleeping with her! That’s indecent!’ And yet, with a bit of makeup and a different hairstyle, she becomes Audrey Hepburn.”

“Danny and Helen are crucial for Jenny,” says Hornby. “She’s seduced by three people. She’s obviously seduced by David but the thing that tips her over the edge is getting to hang with Danny and Helen in their home, surrounded by their beautiful things.”

“It happens over and over again,” says Dominic Cooper, who plays Danny. “We can all put ourselves in Jenny’s position. When you’re growing up, you get led astray, misguided, involved in things that you shouldn’t get involved in. You forget about what’s important in your life. I think all of this is very relevant. I completely understand being drawn into something that you’re not quite part of and finding it thrilling.”

The acting is spectacular in this film. Sarsgaard undertakes a mighty task in making the audience trust and like his character and yet he exceeds with seemingly large amounts of ease. The audience is touched by the relationship Jenny and David begin and may even root for their success. It is a huge betrayal in the end, and Sarsgaard plays it just right.

Carey Mulligan, perhaps best known for her role as Kitty in Pride and Prejudice, manages to play innocent as a girl of 16 and yet makes the transition into sophistication with her new adult company. She holds her own in this film with fantastic actors.

Danny and Helen (Rosamund Pike) aid David in transitioning Jenny into this grown up world. The three of them represent the things Jenny strives to achieve from her dull life. All wear nice clothes, attend fancy events and seem able to sprint around the country at a moments notice. Cooper and Pike shine and are fun to watch. Cooper gives off a fun, youthful confident appeal and Pike, playing a bit of an airhead, manages to endear herself to an audience.

Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour are Jenny’s father and mother respectively. Molina plays the role of the penny-saving, ranting, well-meaning father quite convincingly. Seymour, as the understanding mother, accents him nicely. Molina steals several scenes with his humorous father portrayal. Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins make brief appearances in the film and both bring An Education even more acting clout.

The story offers many beautiful, funny and touching scenes. This coming of age story is told just right. Things are not always as they appear. Jenny learns that there’s a price in all the fun and luxury. A film worth the price of admission.

An Education was filmed in England and France.

An Education

Distributor: Sony Picture Classics

Running Time: 95 minutes

Release Date: October 16, 2009 (limited)

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