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 36 wins & 93 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 | coming of age | teenage girl | oxford | 

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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:

An Education

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$159,017, 11 October 2009

Gross USA:

$12,574,914

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$26,096,852

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

Director Lone Scherfig says she experimented with giving the actors options during scenes. For instance, she told Peter Sarsgaard that if he felt like it he could start a conversation with an extra playing a doorman in one scene despite there not being any written dialogue.

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Goofs

In the dog track parking lot, David takes a few things out of the back of his car and sets them on the ground. Although they are seen there throughout the scene, they are suddenly gone when he and Jenny leave even though he is never seen putting them back.

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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 Rotten Tomatoes Show: Zombieland/A Serious Man/Whip It (2009)

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Soundtracks

Introduction et allegro
Written by Maurice Ravel
Performed by Jamie Campbell, Meghan Cassidy, Timothy Orpen, Gregor Riddell, Nicholas Sharlow, Keziah Thomas, and Adam Walker

User Reviews

Inaccuracies

The book, from which this film was made, is supposed to be autobiographical. However, reports in both the book and the film about the school are inaccurate. The headmistress would not have said that if the girl got married she wouldn't need to go to Oxford. It was expected that all the girls would go to university, and it was said that a good education was a benefit even if the girls got married. I do not believe any girl would have spoken to the headmistress in the way 'Jenny' did in the film. It is inconceivable that any girl could have been on such familiar terms with her. In the film, the headmistress reminds Jenny about 'the Jews killing Our Lord'. The headmistress would never have said that. Apart from legally compulsory Christian assembly, religion played virtually no part in the school. Unfortunately, this fictional line has been used in these reviews as an illustration of supposed widespread 'anti-semitism', for which I saw no evidence at the time. Unfortunately the headmistress is no longer alive so cannot correct this. It is not acceptable to make a film about real events and then make things up. It shows the folly of taking feature films as any representation of historical fact, though unfortunately English schools do so.