Do you remember when you were younger and thought that you were smarter than everyone else? Kids your own age didn't interest you, teachers had nothing to offer you, and your parents were the stupidest of them all, out of touch simpletons just getting in your way. There's nothing kids want more than to feel grown up, to be treated as adults, to be seen as mature, sophisticated, cultured, and intelligent. But there are no short cuts in life, no matter how smart or mature you may be, a hard lesson Jenny must learn in An Education.
Jenny is a sixteen year old on the fast track to Oxford. She is undoubtedly sophisticated for her age; she'd love nothing better than to speak in French, watch foreign films and go to classical concerts. She draws the attention of a classmate, a geeky looking chap who personifies the expression, "I don't date people my own age." She feels like an old soul trapped in a teenager's body. Nobody gets her, that is until she meets David, a mysterious thirty-something year old man, who promises to show her the finer things in life.
No matter how smart Jenny thinks she is, there are just some things a sixteen year old can never really fully comprehend. As cultured as she may fancy herself, she really doesn't know anything of the real world. These points are the crux of the film. Throughout the film, her age and inexperience in life stick out like a sore thumb. These moments are an education she did not expect to receive.
David is smart, handsome, and charming, but I was immediately cautious that he was perhaps too charming, too perfect, and much much older than Jenny. Does it ever occur to her why a thirty-something year old man would take interest in a sixteen year old girl? No, because she does not see herself as sixteen, she views him as an equal when it should be painfully obvious that feeling is not mutual. No matter, she is too infatuated with the idea of sophistication to care. With David she is able to go out to fancy restaurants, concerts and trips to Paris, all the things she wants out of life. Suddenly school and getting into Oxford take a backseat. Needless to say, that is probably a bad idea. Let this be a lesson to all the girls out there, don't give up your dreams for a guy.
I liked An Education. It's a smart coming of age story that is well written and acted. It is occasionally very funny. Carey Mulligan, who plays Jenny, has the feel of a bonafide star. Peter Sarsgaard is handsome and charming as David. He reminded me of Colin Firth, which is a good thing. Now a list of cliches to drive home the point. Sometimes it is okay to act your own age. There is no substitute for experience. There are no short cuts in life. Maturity comes with age. The end.
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment