Film Review: An Education

Many people talk about how Up in the Air was so evocative of the time it was released, and while I do agree with that as endlessly as the next person, I apply that description much more towards An Education. Of course it's set a whole fifty years in the past, and in London as well, but for somebody from a lower middle-class family struggling to make it to and through college, this always rang rather true for me. Come to think of it, I doubt there's a film that puts this real period in everyone's life more fitfully and eloquently than this. Last year's The Kids Are All Right comes rather close, but it focuses far more on the family aspect of becoming an adult, not to mention the summery tone to it.

An Education is the story of Jenny Mellow, a dedicated student who's on the road to apply and be accepted into Oxford University. Out of the rain comes the charming and intelligent David Goldman, who wins Jenny over with class and ease. He introduces her to his upper-class friend Danny and his girlfriend Helen, somebody whose road through life is more than a little reminiscent of where Jenny is headed. Jenny's schoolwork takes a backseat as she's immersed and distracted by the world that David and his friends live in. She begins to question what it is that she wanted in the first place, as we all do at some point.

When you're introduced into a new set of friends, you start to lose sight of who you are as a person and become more of a member of the group. I never thought of it as quite so tragic a thing as it is painted here, but when the individual being lost is so beautiful and kind, that does offer something you want to hold onto. At the halfway point of this film, I had myself wondering whether or not she would convert completely into one of these people. It certainly would have been a much bolder move, and it would have made the film into something completely different. In some ways I cling onto that idea of what this film could have been, and then a retreat into the happiness and warmth of what actually happens.

The unfolding of David and Danny actually being con men makes the repeat viewing experience of the film all the more foreboding. The scary thing about the first half of the film is how intimidating Peter Sarsgaard is as David. He pulls the wool over Jenny's eyes, and whenever it seems like he's charming her, he is simply ridiculing her former way of life in hopes of ensnaring a young companion. He's a wolf, precarious in his moves and generally deplorable in his methods. That's not to say that people who do what he does day to day, conning people out of certain goods, are similarly deplorable. Their glorious way of life is only sustainable through that deceit and underhanded dealing. In a world like this, it can be seen as a necessary evil.

The way that Jenny goes along with the wrongdoing is really the way that we all wish we could live. We all envision a version of ourselves who lives free of such moral inhibitions and does what they like, but the world we live in just doesn't accommodate that. Then as the final act looms forward, we get an idea of the sweet life Jenny has lived with David finally going sour. We get an idea of the true emotional connections in Jenny's life, including her father, played wonderfully by the exquisite Alfred Molina. However the most vital connection in her life may be her favorite teacher, played by Olivia Williams. If she keeps taking on roles as endearing and wonderful as she has been, she'll be well on track for an Oscar one day, or should.

The entire film has you thinking about the numerous aspects of what is happening and what will be happening. Jenny is one of the most intelligent characters written in a while, portrayed wonderfully by Carey Mulligan, because she's not completely infallible in her actions. She makes mistakes, occasionally doesn't realize it, but is always quick to explain her actions. That's what is so great about this film is that all the characters have their flaws and make mistakes. It's those mistakes that define their characters and don't lead the story. Films should be driven by their characters and not their plots. You don't just fall into circumstances by accident, but by actions of others. Ultimately the ending of the film is optimistic, making a point that focus and time can be put to use doing anything that you choose. A simple message, but one that never seemed less cliche or contrived. The ending is a little wishy-washy, but it's more than forgivable.

A

Power and Control: Best Performances in Otherwise Awful Films of 2010

5. Will Ferrell as Allen Gamble (The Other Guys)

I often have double takes about exactly what I thought of Will Ferrell's performance in The Other Guys, because even though a lot of people enjoyed it, I just ended up hating it. So, as is the case with many an awful film, it's difficult to pick out somebody and say they did well. I've never been a fan of Will Ferrell, but the fact of the matter is that he steps up his game for this one. He's not the same sort of child in an adult's body. He was actually a pretty decent guy, and his character felt closer to what a real person would be like in those situations. Wildly and ignorantly out of control, but close to realistic. The script just doesn't serve him well enough, as it should. Luckily, he had Megamind to turn his year around.

4. Taylor Swift as Veronica (Valentines Day)

This is probably the best cameo appearance of the year, and it's in a film that I didn't even end up paying to see. Valentines Day is the traditional romantic comedy that uses all the pathetic jokes that have been used in the genre before, as well as the same cliches. The one aspect of the film that I was ever on board with was the Taylor/Taylor cameo, featuring Lautner and Swift as a high school couple. Lautner does a pretty traditional job, but you'd have to have a cold heart of stone not to like Taylor Swift. She's always put forward that adorable and bubbly persona that put everyone on her side when Kanye West ruined her VMA moment. Here, she just displays a pure sense of joy that the rest of the film is surprisingly lacking. Feel free to rail against my choice, because I expect. I'm just glad that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

3. Alfred Molina as Maxim Horvath (The Sorcerer's Apprentice)

I both hate and love that my impatience to see Inception eventually pushed me to see this film. I knew long before the trailer came out that this film was prematurely busted and broken. There is no dignity in remaking the beloved musical short of the same name, and then reformatting it as a live-action adventure. Nicholas Cage doesn't help credibility either. The one thing that this film had going for it was Alfred Molina, the patron saint of fantastic actors in bad films. The man is always placed into these truly awful films, and he's usually the most likable actor of the group. He's got a deceptive charisma about him, and that fits most of the villains he plays. Horvath isn't exactly a well written character, but Molina's personality just clicks with relish, and we too relish every moment he's onscreen, because for that moment, The Sorcerer's Apprentice isn't painful to sit through.

2. Carey Mulligan as Cathy H. (Never Let Me Go)

Never Let Me Go was the ultimate love-it-or-hate-it film of 2010, and I unfortunately ended up in that second group of people. I know that the film must have been impeccably crafted, but it just didn't rub off on me the way it should have. Kiera Knightly and Andrew Garfield's performances began to grate on my about halfway through the film, because they both had an expiration date. Carey Mulligan, on the other hand, proved that her spectacular performance in An Education wasn't just a fluke. She doesn't have to carry this film on her shoulders, but she does, and she does it with a rich sentimentality and deep sorrow. Her character has never had hope, but she'd like to believe that it exists. It's a sweet performance tucked into a cold narrative.

1. Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn (TRON: Legacy)

You've already heard me attest to everything that is wrong with TRON: Legacy. It's derivatively plotted, it trucks along rather aimlessly at some points, and it's just a simple plot stretched out illogically to make it seem complex. It's all but saved by the music, the visuals, and most importantly, Jeff "The Dude" Bridges. I put an emphasis on "The Dude", because that's basically who the character of Kevin Flynn has become. He's been in this tripped out land of cyberspace for what must have been centuries, with his only real companion being an extremely hot higher being with stunning black hair. At the same time, he's got a major slice of God in him, with his unprecedented desire to do the right thing, no matter the cost. It's an especially poignant work that Bridges pulls off with flawless grace. Very few things in this film could have been said to be perfect. Bridges is one of them.