An Education

Directed by Lone Scherfig

Starring Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard

On the surface, the story behind An Education is ancient. Short cuts versus hard work. Style vs. Substance. And for those who chose a life of ski over education (In Jasper??? Never!!!), it asks some uncomfortable questions.

The film is much too smart to present easy answers, and weaves effortlessly between the sexual and class politics of post-war England. Context ensures true struggles in this gem of a film, which has received a Best Picture Oscar nomination thanks to a smart script from Nick Hornby and excellent acting all around.

The film follows the trials of 16-year-old Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a young girl with limitless academic potential, who dreams of attending Oxford and reaching bohemian Paris. Her lower-middle class family badger her about grades, yet they’re intentions are skewed. During 1960s England, career choices for educated women barely expand beyond teaching and bureaucracy.

Yet when a mysterious older man David (Peter Sarsgaard) unveils a world of stylish cars, jazz clubs and russian cigarettes, she is quickly smitten. Art auctions and weekend getaways hold too much allure for young Jenny, who must soon chose between her schoolgirl dreams of higher education and the glamourous yet increasingly shady life presented by David and his brood.

While Jenny preaches for the freedom and passion she believes she’s found, wrapping herself in a sheen of sophistication designed to mask teenage immaturity, she hears little opposition from those who should be protecting her. She embraces the joie de vivre persona, sparring with authority figures on the merits of a life well lived, shunning middle class England as a land of the dead.

Those who oppose the life come in the form of a seemingly boring English Teacher (Olivia Williams) and a principal (Emma Thompson) more upset over the fact David is Jewish. Her parents (Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour) are also caught up in the magic of a man who seems too good to be true, charmed by the class jumping and cost savings the suitor presents for their daughter.

By the time David’s character is fully revealed, the die appears to be cast.

While the movie’s finale may be too sweet for some tastes, the film still does a marvellous job exploring the hard choices presented when escapist lifestyles offer solutions to oppressive notions of gender, class and authority.

Well-acted, well-scripted and shot, An Education is worth the time and effort.

The Jasper Film Club selections run on the first Thursday of every month.