An Education

AN EDUCATION (Nominations: 3)

Well, it has been a long road to get here, the final nominee. I admit, I felt a little tired and relieved as I sat down to watch An Education. I was not expecting too much because I already knew the story: teenage girl falls for a charming older guy . . . the end. Well, that is sort of true.

Seeing as I had already cast An Education aside with the rest of the rabble that was not directed by a current or former Cameron, it was going to be tough for the movie to impress me. Let me tell you all, it was up to the challenge. The film starts off at a strong pace and really grabbed my interest. I would like to say that it held my interest for the duration, but alas, I cannot. Still, the film is very good.

I am not sure who would argue this point, but Carey Mulligan is by far the best thing about this film. Her portrayal of a young girl who is naïve and innocent and yet curious and desirous is phenomenal. Even as you do not agree with her decisions, you can see why she is making them. She holds her own with some big names too: Alfred Molina (recall Doctor Octopus from Spidey 2) and Peter Sarsgaard (the young boy-toy in Kinsey). Molina has a presence whenever he is on screen, and if Mulligan is the best thing about the movie, he is certainly the second. She goes toe to toe with him (playing her father) and often comes out on top, impressive for a young actress.

As for Mr. Sarsgaard, I am biased because I am a real fan, perhaps not so much as Jake Gyllenhall, his brother-in-law, but still, I thought his performance was very good. He does not stand out so much though because his character is so flat. We learn a little bit about him at a time, but he does well enough that we are never quite comfortable with him, even if only because he is far too old to be chasing after young Jenny. With all the reservations felt about him, you want to tell Jenny to hold on, to stay away from him, but he is far too likeable. He has an explanation for everything and a silver tongue to boot. You want Jenny to say no to him, but you understand why she says yes.

In all, I think the nominations for this film were well deserved. It lost my attention about 30 minutes from the end. The pacing was fine. The length was fine. But after a while, the strong performances were not enough to keep the relatively obvious plot from holding my fascination. As for awards, like most of the films, it really does not have a shot at Best Picture. As for its adapted screenplay, the nomination is deserved if only for the discourse given to Sarsgaard to spew at Jenny’s parents. I do not see a victory here though against Up in the Air, but it could be an upset. The best shot at a statue will be for Carey Mulligan in her leading role. She is in elder company with frontrunner Sandra Bullock and the always nominated Meryl Streep. She probably will not win, but if she did, she would deserve it. She is just so loveable in this film, even when you want to slap some sense into her.

PREDICTED WINS: 0