AN EDUCATION - It Sure Is

AN EDUCATION, adapted by Nick Hornby from Lynn Barber's memoir, proves that your film doesn't have to have high stakes or amped-up drama to be engaging. It tells the story of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a bright young British student with dreams of going to Oxford. She finds her plans in turmoil when she meets rich, charming, David.

AN EDUCATION OF SPOILERS

Eventually, with the blessing of her won-over parents, Jenny turns her back on school and decides to marry David. Which is a bit of a problem, being that he's already married. Having screwed up her shot at university by alienating a favorite teacher and mouthing off to the headmistress, Jenny is at a total loss for what to do.

The script does a fantastic job of painting these characters, from bright, eager, bored Jenny to her stick-in-the-mud father who wants the best for her to sleazy/charming David to her teacher (Olivia Williams) to the headmistress. They feel like real people with real problems, which helps sell the romance and allow us to be taken in by David just like Jenny.

Conflicts are natural and arise from the characters and the situations, rather than anything tacked on from the outside.

The film does a great job of showing Jenny's "education" in living life -- going to the symphony, fancy restaurants, art auctions, and Paris. We're seduced along with her and we feel like with David, she has a shot at an interesting life, instead of winding up a drone in academia or the civil service.

If the film has one small flaw, it's that at the end, Jenny tries to get back into school after dropping out, only to find her plans screwed up because she insulted the headmistress. So Jenny enlists the help of her favorite teacher to get her back on track. It's not clear what the teacher did (did she write Oxford? Convince the headmistress to let Jenny back in? Get Jenny whatever the British equivalent of a GED?) to restore Jenny's shot at Oxford and it seems very clear that the headmistress (a great Emma Thompson) isn't going to allow her back in after insulting her.

However, because there's tremendous goodwill for Jenny and her plight, and it is the last few minutes of the film, I was willing to overlook it.

So if you can, go check out AN EDUCATION, as it's a great little film.