“Someone else might want to know the point of it all one day,” says teenage Jenny (Carey Mulligan) to the stuffy headmistress (Emma Thompson) at her school. For a young woman in 1961 England, the search for meaning yields no easy answers.  But this smartly written film doesn’t try to provide any. Instead, complex characters and wonderfully subtle performances make An Education something you both enjoy and think about long after you leave the theater.

Jenny reads Camus, plays the cello, studies Latin and does everything else she can to achieve her goal of getting into Oxford. Her father Jack (Alfred Molina) sees only the bottom line and disdains intellectual and artistic pursuits that are not goal-oriented. When Jenny meets David (Peter Sarsgaard) a much older and more sophisticated man, she begins living a double life. By day she is a schoolgirl, but in the evenings and on weekends she goes to fine restaurants, concerts and weekend trips with David and his friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike).  It is not surprising that Jenny is charmed by David and his exciting life; but what is surprising is how thoroughly David charms Jenny’s father and mother (Cara Seymour). With lies, gifts and attention, he manipulates them into allowing Jenny to accompany him on trips, even overcoming their inherent dislike of Jews. When David proposes to Jenny, both her parents are happy, and see no need for her to go to Oxford. But Jenny is torn, and is also beginning to suspect that David may be involved in something unsavory.

Twenty- something Carey Mulligan has the innocent looks and attitude required to be believable as a sixteen year old girl.  But her intensity and fiery spirit is evident when she argues with her father, headmistress and her teacher Miss Stubbs (beautiful Olivia Williams, most recently seen starring in Dollhouse. The addition of glasses is supposed to make her seem less attractive.) Williams and Mulligan have several nice scenes together, conveying a lot while saying very little. Jenny likes and respects her teacher, but makes it clear that she wants a more exciting life. Miss Stubbs is hurt by Jenny’s judgment, but continues to care about her, even though she disapproves of David. Near the end of the film, a wiser Jenny visits Miss Stubbs at her apartment, and looks around admiringly. We see that Jenny is seeing the life of her teacher and her own future through different eyes.

Peter Sarsgaard, who is often relegated to the role of friend of the lead character, really gets to shine here. His English accent is credible, and he infuses his natural charm with a little bit of smarminess. David needs to be charming enough to win over Jenny and her parents, but also needs to show a hint of his duplicity.  Handsome Sarsgaard made me recoil in disgust during some of David and Jenny’s love scenes but appeared cultured and kind enough to make us understand why an intelligent girl like Jenny would want to spend time with him. Alfred Molina makes the overbearing character of Jack likeable. Jack spends a lot of time making fun of the young classmate who likes Jenny and complaining about the cost of things. He allows David to take Jenny to a concert, because he doesn’t want to drive across town. He is thrilled at the prospect of Jenny marrying David and sees no need for Jenny to go to college. When Jenny questions the point of the hours spent studying in order to get admitted to Oxford, Jack replies with surprise, “But he wouldn’t want you if you were thick.” But Molina manages to convey love towards his daughter throughout the film. And near the end of the film, he conveys his fear and vulnerability, as his face softens when he tries to apologize to her though a closed door.

An Education is based on a memoir by Lynn Barber, which may be one reason why the story and dialogue ring so true. Novelist Nick Hornby, who knows a thing or two about telling a story and having novels adapted for the screen, does a good job creating shades of grey in this film.  Jenny is intelligent and independent at a time when women were not encouraged to have those qualities. But she is bored, and longs to experience good music, foreign films and literature of all kinds. And we understand her desire to break free of her limited world. David shares these passions and introduces her to a new life. He is not who he appears to be, and he is repugnant and likeable at the same time. His friends Helen and Danny are obviously involved in something illegal, but they seem to genuinely care about Jenny, and we see why she likes them.

During an argument with her father, Jack angrily explains that the things Jenny wants “don’t grow on trees.”  Much later in the film, David says the same thing when Jenny objects to his questionable business deals. But Jenny reasons, “If we never did anything we would never be anybody.” Jenny does a lot, and not all of it is bad.  But it is both the good and bad parts of her experience that make her wiser and more determined. David tells Jenny that he graduated from the “University of Life.” By the end of the film, Jenny can say the same, and she finally does understand “the point of it all.”

An Education.  Directed by Lone Scherfig.  Carey Mulligan (Jenny), Olivia Williams (Miss Stubbs), Alfred Molina (Jack) Cara Seymour (Marjorie), Peter Sarsgaard (David), Dominic Cooper (Danny) Rosamund Pike(Helen) and Emma Thompson(Headmistress). Sony Pictures Classics, 2009.

 

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

 

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