Review of An Education (2009) by Rainer K — 26 Sep 2012

I must say, sometimes, the critic's consensus on RT sums it up very well.

"Though the latter part of the film may not appeal to all,..." That's a statement I'd sign any day. For the biggest part of the film the motives of David (Peter Sarsgaard) are unclear and most of the suspense comes from the question whether we can trust him. Sarsgaard is unbelievably good as the charming and smooth-talking seducer of 16-year old Jenny (Carey Mulligan). We like his esprit and elegance but there's always a little doubt left why he's seducing her. She's cute but not a true sex bomb and there are lots of girls who are more sophisticated than her. But her cuteness, cleverness plus her naivete make her a perfect choice for... for what actually?

The film never really tells why he makes a move on her, nor if he ever really loved her. So this big mystery is never solved but we get at least better feeling about his motives at the end - Scherfig doesn't leave us without a bigger picture at all. It's just that the build-up promises a bigger secret than there actually is. The film left me a bit frustrated in the end. Such a fine method of hiding David's true intentions and then such a fast and (too) easy outcome.

Pity, because everything else works just fine. The performances are incredible. Sarsgaard is perfect, as I said, Alfred Molina is great as Jenny's narrow-minded, bourgeois father and Carey Mulligan, who I never really loved before in a movie is just adorable with her Audrey Hepburn-looks and her distinctive naive behaviour.

The middle part is enough for me to put this in my top 10 for 2009 for the moment. Seldom, a film makes me root for a character as much while I'm suspicious of him at the same time. Nevermind the so-so ending.