To Read English

I recently just watched An Education as part of my quest to see all of the Oscar-nominated movies before Hollywood's biggest night. I was already pleased to begin with when I knew the movie was a period film set in 1960s London. I especially love the '60s, and even more so the British 60s; the music, the arts, the way people dress. The 60s were a progressive period in time that were more liberated and freed, as opposed to the 50s and that's what makes the 60s such a cool time. An education has fantastic photography. It does not shy away from showing glits and glamour of the 60s; Classical concerts, Pre-Raphaelite arts, sports cars, and spotless suits. But besides all these superficial elements that make up the movie, An Education was a very charming film, though not flawless by any means.

The film narrates the quiet surbuban life of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a 16 going on 17 school girl who exceeds in a lot of her academic subjects (except maybe Latin, but she still gets away with Bs) and who is primed to attend Oxford University. Her life is about to change when she meets a much older man who showers her with lavish gifts and brings her to fancy restaurants, nightclubs, art auctions, concerts and ultimately Paris, her dream place. The new kind of fun she's having with this man leads her to make some unprobable choices and can potentially deteriorate her ambitions 'to read English' at Oxford.

It's a coming-of-age story and is a bit formulaic and somewhat unrealistic to a certain extent. The writing was witty, but it didn't seem very complete or finished. The ending, though happy, felt rushed and unexplained. But in what the writing lacks of, the film makes up for it with the superb acting, especially Carey Mulligan. It wasn't a grandiose performance, but she was extremely charming, if not sometimes annoyingly bitchy, but it works perfectly nonetheless. I can understand her Oscar nomination, though I'm not completely convinced if she wins. But she's deserving regardless of the outcome.

Like I said right off the bat, I absolutely loved the photography of the movie. It was so beautiful, and the clothes were just impeccable. It reminds me of the TV show Madmen. I don't follow that show too reguarly nor enjoy it really, but the fashion of the 60s are just so neat and spotless. Everyone is in well-tailored Savile Row suits, and women were in dresses and furs, it's just a remarkable time for fashion and style.

An Education is a 7.5/10. The writing and plot was a little simplistic, but the acting and photography was outstanding. Still, a quite enjoyable movie on a rainy day.