Review of An Education (2009) by William T — 15 Jul 2012
Based on the real life story of writer Lynn Barber, "An Education" tells the story of a 16 year old school girl who is seduced into a jetset lifestyle by a wealthy older man. The older man (Peter Sarsgaard) claims to be in his late 20s, but is more likely in his late 30s.
He takes her to fancy restaurants, classical music concerts and fancy art auctions, all things her middle class, stick-in-the-mud parents (Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour) would never do with her. When news of her engagement to the older man reaches her school, her chances of entering Oxford (her, or should I say, her parents life long goal for her) are endangered, and the girl must choose between a boring life and an exciting one.
Why would this character work so hard all her life for a goal if she wasn't really interested in pursuing it? She screams at her teacher and principal that she doesn't want to waste any more of her life studying boring dead languages only so she might earn a degree and go into some boring field of work that she might waste away in it until she dies.
It's a rather emphatic statement, and one that makes almost no sense when the big "change-of-heart" ending comes about. At best, she's a directionless waif who bases her life choices on what others tell her to do, at worst, she turns out to be the worst kind of insipid girl (completely contradictory to what the film describes her character as) who makes life choices based on a self-acknowledged phony romance.
That a girl portrayed as such a strong character for the majority of the movie should have a complete character breakdown in the final act does not inspire me or make me feel enlightened. Real life events were changed for dramatic effect, but this dramatic effect is counter to the character established.
Why? The change serves no real purpose to the story, other than to weaken it. In fact, An Education lacks overall, never rising above the storyline that's been done before (a film set in the sixties that's actually a throwback to similar films from the sixties: "Georgie Girl", etc.
). Uninspiring.
This review of An Education (2009) was written by William T on 15 Jul 2012.
An Education has generally received very positive reviews.
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