This film has it all, script, acting, warmth, pathos and wit. It is an exquisite film and beautifully crafted. Carey Mulligan is now on a trajectory to the stars with this film which is all hers. She radiates throughout the film but is no scene stealer. Now I am fearful to be too grandiose with my admiration for Ms. Mulligan because I felt the same way last year with Sally Hawkins (who makes a brief cameo in this film), however Carey Mulligan deserves the recognition she is getting. The story of a middle class father with high hopes for his precocious daughter is not the freshest tale in the box, but this movie pulls it off. Alfred Molina is outstanding as usual as the bearer of bombast and guilt. He has an answer for everything, or so it seems.
Carey Mulligan is a sucker for a sweet talker, and Peter Sarsgaard is sugar in a sports car....but it never seems forced or contrived. Sargaard wins over Mulligan and family, as quickly as he does with us....and even when we notice there is something wrong, we, like Mulligan, overlook it. Who gets hurt with white lies after all? It seems to me that the people who are constantly being overlooked are Dominic Cooper who seems to relish his role. We are first suspicious of him...he is too good to be true and he seems to be hiding something. Rosamund Pike is the other star of the film. She encapsulates the post-war hope of Britain. She is so sincere and earnest it's almost hard to believe she is real as well. It is all so clever. We the viewer are given so much facade, the by the time the kicker appears....we can hardly believe it.
The story however does have redemption at the end, although it is done a little too pat. Yes, Oxford and Cambridge required acceptance to a college, not to the university and the college system was very much alive in the 60's, but more than that, it seemed to trivialize the whole story. Mulligan has all the answers it seems, until of course she doesn't but like an episode of "Love Boat" all the lose ends are tied up, or hidden out of sight so we don't feel cheated. It was a bit too clichéd.
The movie however, is a gem. BBC Films, as usual, brings remarkable tales and humanity to the screen and present us with a line-up second to none. If Americans really want to see how you do a great movie on a small budget then the Brits have some lessons to teach. Each character has depth, and pathos. Many people have mentioned the characters of Olivia Williams and of course Emma Thompson. Both of them take their role with a quiet reserve but nevertheless give us some of the best lines in the film, aside from those from Mulligan.
See this movie, and savour it. It is a celluloid delight.
Carey Mulligan is a sucker for a sweet talker, and Peter Sarsgaard is sugar in a sports car....but it never seems forced or contrived. Sargaard wins over Mulligan and family, as quickly as he does with us....and even when we notice there is something wrong, we, like Mulligan, overlook it. Who gets hurt with white lies after all? It seems to me that the people who are constantly being overlooked are Dominic Cooper who seems to relish his role. We are first suspicious of him...he is too good to be true and he seems to be hiding something. Rosamund Pike is the other star of the film. She encapsulates the post-war hope of Britain. She is so sincere and earnest it's almost hard to believe she is real as well. It is all so clever. We the viewer are given so much facade, the by the time the kicker appears....we can hardly believe it.
The story however does have redemption at the end, although it is done a little too pat. Yes, Oxford and Cambridge required acceptance to a college, not to the university and the college system was very much alive in the 60's, but more than that, it seemed to trivialize the whole story. Mulligan has all the answers it seems, until of course she doesn't but like an episode of "Love Boat" all the lose ends are tied up, or hidden out of sight so we don't feel cheated. It was a bit too clichéd.
The movie however, is a gem. BBC Films, as usual, brings remarkable tales and humanity to the screen and present us with a line-up second to none. If Americans really want to see how you do a great movie on a small budget then the Brits have some lessons to teach. Each character has depth, and pathos. Many people have mentioned the characters of Olivia Williams and of course Emma Thompson. Both of them take their role with a quiet reserve but nevertheless give us some of the best lines in the film, aside from those from Mulligan.
See this movie, and savour it. It is a celluloid delight.