An Education Review: Men, Booze, Homework, the English Countryside and Oscars An Education is a movie that's gotten a lot of critical attention over the past year, so when I finally saw it recently I expected something completely different than what I got. What the movie is is a perfectly enjoyable coming-of-age story that is slightly smarter than its peers, the quaint British film of the year, and likely the launching of a new star in Carey Mulligan. What it isn't is groundbreaking or brilliant, which is what I assumed it was considering all the snooty buzz, but it is worth seeing if you like the genre, and/or want in on this Carey Mulligan action from the ground up.

The film follows a 17-year-old private school girl in 1960s England who has her sights set on Oxford. She's an over-achiever, mostly due to the intense pressure her father puts on her, but when an older playboy (Peter Sarsgaard) comes to town to sweep her off her feet and show her how the world really is, she gains a richer education and more street smarts than her expensive private school could ever offer. But, of course, he turns out to be far from what he seems. She learns everything about men in a few months that most women take years to learn, basically. It's a crash course, you see.

And that's all fine, really. The story is a little nuts and her father is pretty unbelievable, but the point of this movie is that Carey Mulligan is a terrific actress who just took the States by storm with this performance. If she doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this (it's really too early to say), she will get one for something next year, or the year after. It's best to familiarize yourself with her now.

17 Comments

October 9, 2009 12:30 PM
Al C
Reply

If you anyone watched Dr. Who, you'll remember Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow in the episode Blink.

October 9, 2009 12:53 PM
Zoe
Reply

Um. I watch Doctor Who. And I don't remember her as Sally Sparrow. I don't remember every single character from every single episode, and I think there's something wrong with me, because everyone seems capable of that. But I really love Carey Mulligan. I remember her from Pride and Prejudice.

October 9, 2009 12:54 PM
Amanda
Reply

Fans of Masterpiece Theatre will also recognize her from Bleak House and Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. She was wonderful in each, and Doctor Who as well.

October 9, 2009 1:04 PM
Shubhada
Reply

I remember her from Dr. Who, and I thought she did an amazing job! It was one of the only episodes where the Doctor had very little screen time. I hope her career goes well.

October 9, 2009 1:05 PM
RJ
Reply

She was definitely in "Dr. Who" in the episode "Blink", which was one of the best episodes (and the freakiest, in my opinion - my mom and I still joke about statues). I loved her from "Bleak House" too.

October 9, 2009 2:36 PM
Hanna
Reply

I thought Carey Mulligan was great in Bleak House and I love Peter Sarsgaard, so I'm definitely looking forward to this movie.

October 9, 2009 3:39 PM
Caroline
Reply

I'm really excited about all the attention Carey Mulligan's starting to get. I liked her a lot in Bleak House and especially Doctor Who. Blink's one of my favorite episodes. She's adorable and a great actress. I don't know how interested I am in the movie, but I'll probably see it for her and Peter Sarsgaard.

October 9, 2009 4:01 PM
Andy Bluebear
Reply

"when an older playboy comes to town to sweep her off her feet and show her how the world really is, she gains a richer education and more street smarts than her expensive private school could ever offer. But, of course, he turns out to be far from what he seems. She learns everything about men in a few months that most women take years to learn, basically. It's a crash course, you see."

Doesn't this seem a bit cliched? Like, haven't we seen this all before?

October 9, 2009 4:16 PM
Moni
Reply

Carey Mulligan also played Kitty Bennet in the most recent "Pride and Prejudice."

October 9, 2009 9:16 PM
iTwo
Reply

Carey Mulligan has also been tapped as the likely lead if and when filmmakers are able to get the MYST: BOOK OF TI'ANA film out of development hell.

October 9, 2009 9:18 PM
iTwo
Reply

Carey Mulligan has also been tapped as the likely lead if and when filmmakers are able to get the MYST: BOOK OF TI'ANA film out of development hell.

October 10, 2009 12:24 AM
Lauren
Reply

Saw this a couple of days ago, and have to agree with the review... well, what little review there is. The film is oddly paced, as you know things aren't going to end well, spend the majority of the film half-dreading the inevitable break down of the fairytale, and then once it does, about ten minutes later the film ends. There was a fairly anticlimactic, "wait, that was it?" feeling in the audience as we shuffled out of the theatre. I typically greatly enjoy Carey Mulligan (yet oddly don't really see the Oscar here), Peter Sarsgaard, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson and Nick Hornby, so the fact that they joined powers to create a film that affected me so very, very little was in itself a huge disappointment. At least the clothes were pretty to look at...

October 10, 2009 2:06 PM
Chelsea
Reply

She was crazy good in Price and Prejudice.

October 11, 2009 3:59 AM
Jean
Reply

The photo sure looks like it's been taken in Paris (this is either Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral or a perfect copy of it, that is also located on an island that, in turn, looks exactly like l'Île de la Cité), yet the article makes no mention of it.

October 11, 2009 10:06 AM
eh
Reply

Dear TWOP - this isn't content. This is like a (very short) banal, post-cinema rambling which someone has typed up and for some reason decided to share with an audience.

If you're going to write about this, write about this. Get a little deeper. Or, if you're just going to write about Casey Mulligan, maybe mention something else she's been in? Or her upcoming projects? Does anyone even edit this rubbish?

October 11, 2009 10:54 AM
Neio
Reply

At no point in your review do you mention that the film is based on a true story (it's about the young life of Lynn Barber, a well-known British journalist). If it doesn't stray too far from her memoir, I suspect the story isn't too nuts and the father isn't too 'unbelievable'. The truth is often stranger than fiction.

November 5, 2009 8:58 PM
tvgirl48
Reply

Carey Mulligan pulled off a difficult thing when she made a Doctor Who episode with almost no Doctor excellent. Blink was a classic episode and I'm so glad she's getting more roles and recognition.

Loading...

Add a comment

TWoP Toolbar

BLOG ARCHIVES

The Moviefile

January 2012

2 Entries

December 2011

27 Entries

November 2011

22 Entries

October 2011

22 Entries

September 2011

29 Entries

August 2011

27 Entries

July 2011

30 Entries

June 2011

25 Entries

May 2011

13 Entries

April 2011

23 Entries

March 2011

22 Entries

February 2011

33 Entries

January 2011

39 Entries

December 2010

21 Entries

November 2010

29 Entries

October 2010

23 Entries

September 2010

25 Entries

August 2010

26 Entries

July 2010

29 Entries

June 2010

36 Entries

May 2010

22 Entries

April 2010

26 Entries

March 2010

30 Entries

February 2010

19 Entries

January 2010

19 Entries

December 2009

15 Entries

November 2009

21 Entries

October 2009

27 Entries

September 2009

30 Entries

August 2009

28 Entries

July 2009

34 Entries

June 2009

27 Entries

May 2009

24 Entries

April 2009

23 Entries

March 2009

18 Entries

February 2009

30 Entries

January 2009

56 Entries

December 2008

51 Entries

November 2008

61 Entries

October 2008

102 Entries

September 2008

86 Entries

August 2008

99 Entries

July 2008

116 Entries

June 2008

95 Entries

May 2008

86 Entries

April 2008

67 Entries

March 2008

14 Entries