An Education (2009)

A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.

Director:

Lone Scherfig

Writers:

Lynn Barber (memoir), Nick Hornby (screenplay)

Stars:

Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 35 wins & 91 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carey Mulligan	...	Jenny Mellor
Olivia Williams	...	Miss Stubbs
Alfred Molina	...	Jack Mellor
Cara Seymour	...	Marjorie
William Melling	...	Small Boy
Connor Catchpole	...	Small Boy
Matthew Beard	...	Graham
Peter Sarsgaard	...	David Goldman
Amanda Fairbank-Hynes	...	Hattie
Ellie Kendrick	...	Tina
Dominic Cooper	...	Danny
Rosamund Pike	...	Helen
Nick Sampson	...	Auctioneer
Kate Duchêne	...	Latin Teacher (as Kate Duchene)
Bel Parker	...	Small Girl

Storyline

In the early 1960's, sixteen year old Jenny Mellor lives with her parents in the London suburb of Twickenham. On her father's wishes, everything that Jenny does is in the sole pursuit of being accepted into Oxford, as he wants her to have a better life than he. Jenny is bright, pretty, hard working but also naturally gifted. The only problems her father may perceive in her life is her issue with learning Latin, and her dating a boy named Graham, who is nice but socially awkward. Jenny's life changes after she meets David Goldman, a man over twice her age. David goes out of his way to show Jenny and her family that his interest in her is not improper and that he wants solely to expose her to cultural activities which she enjoys. Jenny quickly gets accustomed to the life to which David and his constant companions, Danny and Helen, have shown her, and Jenny and David's relationship does move into becoming a romantic one. However, Jenny slowly learns more about David, and by association ...

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | age difference | loss of virginity | oxford | suburb | 

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Taglines:

Innocence of the Young.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

5 February 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Enseñanza de vida

Filming Locations:

20 Cumberland Terrace, Regents Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$159,017, 9 October 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$12,574,715, 2 May 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Finola Dwyer Productions, Wildgaze Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The author of the original account, Lynn Barber stipulated in her contract that she would be allowed to see and comment (but not alter) every draft written by the screenwriter, Nick Hornby. She mentioned that she was happy with most of the changes, but her one regret was that Hornby changed the name of her lover, Simon, to David, which was her real husband's name. She stated that "I wish in retrospect I'd put up a fight".

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Goofs

In the street scene where Jenny meets David for the second time, a number of modern staple-shaped bicycle racks can been seen along the pavement.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Miss Stubbs: Come on, girls. Anybody?
[pauses]
Miss Stubbs: Anybody else?
[pauses]
Miss Stubbs: Jenny again.
Jenny: Isn't it because Mr. Rochester's blind?
Miss Stubbs: Yes, Jenny.

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Connections

Featured in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

Theme from 'A Summer Place'
Written by Max Steiner
Performed by Percy Faith

User Reviews

Lovely but easy

This is an altogether lovely film. It begins with nice title sequence and then introduces Carey Mulligan who gives a remarkable performance.

Many have said Oscar worthy. I wouldn't say that. Her appearance is mesmerizing and fresh, but I don't think it is an Oscar performance or even an Oscar-worthily written role. Mullingan plays a 16 year old girl who is very smart, literate, charming, but not experienced yet, and she plays it with great self-confidence, which goes unrealistically with her youth. And there isn't much else than confidence and serenity in this performance. I wasn't convinced. I hope Carey Mulligan gets nominated though.

The movie itself is okay, watchable but it didn't challenge me enough. It lacks freshness. It's very Hornby-like. I know he only adapted a memoir here. But the material is similarly uninspiring to his however lovely books and movies based on them. What's the message here? That appearance can be deceiving and that education is a good choice. Well, yes. So I would say a decent juvenile film with good performances from just everybody.