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 & 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 | 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:

Une éducation

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

When David has a drink for "Dutch courage" in his car he takes the wrapper off the bottle of wine and then makes another movement like unscrewing the cap. Screw tops weren't found on bottles of wine in the 1960s.

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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: Couples Retreat/Bronson/An Education (2009)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 3
Written by Edward Elgar and Anthony Payne

User Reviews

Perfect pitch

This beautifully observed film is anchored by a series of performances acted with perfect pitch by its stars and supporting cast, led by the remarkable Carey Mulligan, and a truly extraordinary script by Nick Hornby. The coming of age plot is, perhaps, a little formulaic but that really takes second place to a series of wonderfully engaging characters who surround Ms. Mulligan's 16/17 year-old Jenny as she falls a little to hard for the appealing (and older) rogue played by Peter Sarsgaard.

One annoying little piece of trivium. The University of Oxford does not now and did not in 1962 admit undergraduates. Undergraduates are admitted by individual colleges at the university. So the letter that Jenny receives in which we learn whether she was accepted for a place would have come from a college and not the university as a whole.

And one amusing detail: Rosamund Pike who plays Dominic Cooper's decidedly non-academic blonde girlfriend actually attended Wadham College, Oxford! Takes an Oxford alum to play a dumb blonde, I suppose.