MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF THE YEAR (SECOND IS THE HURT LOCKER) An Education is up for several nominations including best actress and best picture. Premise: Why go to school to study Latin and literature when you can drink, dance and jet set the night away? It’s 1961 and this is the dilemma of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a sixteen-year-old British girl who has fallen for fancy-pants David (Peter Sarsgaard) an older gent who’s got the attitude and sophistication to charm the virginity right out of a girl. It’s a bit “Lolita” somehow in strange reverse. Especially in the opening soundtrack. And then there’s Jenny’s father (Alfred Molina) who sees the entire situation as a platinum Mastercard-moment all to ensure his daughter’s future. Why go to Oxford to study hard when you can wed and live lightly. Penned by Nick “About a Boy” Hornby, from a memoir by journalist Lynn Barber, the story tells of “An Education” in life experience far beyond any chapter in the classroom of English teacher (Olivia Williams). The movie focuses on fine details like Jenny’s mother hanging over a kitchen sink, scrubbing away at a crusty casserole dish just as Jenny arrives home from a night of opera and supper clubs. Is this the life she’s destined to live – just as stifled and tedious as her present adolescent routine? Danny (Dominic Cooper) and his girlfriend, Helen (the gorgeous Rosamund Pike) play suitors to the game as best friends to David. Emma Thompson portrays a bit part as the school’s cynical head-mistress who believes studying is where it’s at. Not the study of a man’s anatomy. The film is meticulously shot, directed and acted by all, though this is clearly Carey Mulligan’s movie. She’s part Audrey Hepburn wrapped in school girl tweed, lighting up the screen – a true star in the making – she moves from girl to woman and then back to girl again at the film’s stunning conclusion. Hard to imagine a young woman could handle things so maturely as Jenny, but maybe that’s just us American teens. Perhaps British girls steeped deep in tea, education and self-discipline know all too well how to handle any situation (even the ones a thirty-year-old can barely handle.) All that said, it’s obvious why this film has already swept audience awards and will most likely be a strong Oscar contender. A star is born. And her name is Carey Mulligan. Four tiaras
