A Knock-Out Education

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Lone Scherfig's An Education, a coming-of-age period drama set in 1961 London, is the absolute shit -- the best film of the Sundance Film Festival, a finely tuned and deeply engaging film by regular popcorn-watching standards, an award-calibre drama that will definitely be in contention at the end of the year, and a movie that has launched a genuine movie star in an old-fashioned and yet very new-fashioned sense -- 23 year-old Carey Mulligan.

An Education star Carey Mulligan during post-screening q & a at the Egyptian -- 1.18.09, 5:05 pm.

I know that special old-soul-mixed-with-youthful-effervescence quality that you see in very few actors and actresses over the years, and trust me, Mulligan has it. A wondrously true and satisfying film has broken out of the Sundance '09 pack, and a brand-new actress with just the right face and just the right approach and precisely the right touch of sadness in the corners of her mouth has hit one out of the park.

If I was a buyer I would have left the theatre at the 45 minute mark and started offering whatever it takes. When a movie works this well you don't need to see the whole thing. You want to see it all, of course, but you know five minutes in that it knows what it's doing and is playing the tune with just the right pitch and calibration.

It helps greatly that An Education is a sublime coming-of-age piece that's been directed with fine assurance by Scherfig (Italian for Beginners) and that it has a wonderfully tart and wise and natural-sounding script by Nick Hornby. And that it also has a perfect cast that includes Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson . But it all rests squarely on Mulligan's shoulders, and she keeps it fully aloft for its 95 minute length.

Nick Hornby, Carey Mulligan, Lone Scherfig, Dominic Cooper after this afternoon's screening of An Education at Park City's Egyptian.

Within two or three minutes I knew I was watching someone extraordinary. Mulligan's Jenny is a very bright and vivacious 16 year-old living a somewhat stifled, middle-class life and pinning her hopes on being admitted to Oxford University. She is spirited but not daffy, off-beautiful and clearly wise beyond her years. What's extra-special about Mulligan is that she possesses -- in this film, at least -- a perky A-student Audrey Hepburn quality that makes you fall for her at the drop of a hat.

The odd thing is that An Education is set at a time when Ms. Hepburn's career was going great guns, and it has a special made-in-the-60s quality -- you're thinking right away that John Schlesinger of 1965 or '66 could have directed it, or Francois Truffaut -- that is quite intoxicating. It sort of allows you think that you're watching it in the '60s, and that the very-new-to-the-scene Mulligan is about to knock Hepburn off her pedestal because she has the same kind of pluck but a lot more soul and melancholy in her eyes.

The story is about how Jenny, bored to years by her suburban existence, is instantly smitten by a much older but very urbane and amusing guy, David (Sarsgaard), in part because he brings so much in the way of excitement and sophistication into her life. A bit of a rascal and a con artist and yet a man of taste with a sense of real fun, David half-persuades but more often hoodwinks Jenny's parents (Molina, Seymour) into letting him take her to this and that concert, art auction, grand party or late-night dinner with his two lah-lah friends, played by Cooper and Rosemund Pike.

David essentially becomes Jenny's new teacher -- her escort-guide into a glam but shady world whose true nature and agenda reveals itself only very gradually. But when it becomes clear...well, let's spare the details for now but it's a serious breath-taker. But our Jenny is no basket case waiting to crumble. The fact that she's strong, bright and focused is one of the pleasures of her character. There's never any worries on that score.

An Education, trust me, will be announced as a Fox Searchlight or Focus Features or Sony Pictures Classics acquisition within hours. Okay, by tomorrow.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 18, 2009 at 7:46 PM

comment #1

iamjoe says ...

This sounds great, and flew under my radar. Also, I would be excited to read Nick Hornby's grocery list. Thanks for the heads up, Jeff.

Posted by iamjoe at January 18, 2009 9:07 PM

comment #2

plastiqueelephant says ...

Wow, long time since I've heard you so blown away by something not the on the map. Can't wait, it sounds utterly intriguing. Let's hope for Fox Searchlight instead of Sony Classics so people can actually see the sucker.

Posted by plastiqueelephant at January 18, 2009 9:51 PM

comment #3

hiviper says ...

I trust Jeff's instincts enough that I'll be watching her closely

Posted by hiviper at January 18, 2009 11:06 PM

comment #4

Marty Melville says ...

Judging from those pics, she even seems to have a little bit of Carol Wright around the edges.

Posted by Marty Melville at January 18, 2009 11:28 PM

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

ok, i'm hooked....i'll be calling around for a screener/screening tuesday....thanks for the heads up....

Posted by scooterzz at January 18, 2009 11:42 PM

comment #6

AndrewOwens says ...

She starred in a 2007 stand alone episode of Doctor Who called Blink that was absolutely amazing - far better than any sci fi film I've seen in years (and you don't need to have ever watched the show before to enjoy it) - and also did great work in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House. Love her!

Posted by AndrewOwens at January 19, 2009 1:55 AM

comment #7

markj says ...

AndrewOwens isn't wrong, Blink was absolutely fantastic, and Mulligan was superb in it. Nice to see her havng some success in the film world. She's in Michael Mann's Public Enemies this year too.

Posted by markj at January 19, 2009 2:14 AM

comment #8

markj says ...

here's Mulligan as she appeared in Doctor Who:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/photostories/s3_10/images/01.jpg

Posted by markj at January 19, 2009 2:20 AM

comment #9

moorish says ...

That Doctor Who episode was utterly brilliant. One of the best 45 minutes of TV I've ever seen.

Suppose now she's a big movie star there'll be no Sally Sparrow comeback? Shame.

Posted by moorish at January 19, 2009 4:07 AM

comment #10

btwnproductions says ...

Mulligan was terrific as Nina opposite Kristin Scott Thomas in The Seagull on Broadway.

Posted by btwnproductions at January 19, 2009 5:57 AM

comment #11

Noiresque says ...

Carey Mulligan is fantastic. Her best TV stuff thus far is in the A+ BLEAK HOUSE adaptation of a couple of years ago with Gillian Anderson, Denis Lawson and Anna Maxwell Martin. Also as the femme fatale in NORTHANGER ABBEY and having an affair with Timothy Dalton in one of the Miss Marple adaptations, THE SITTAFORD MYSTERY.

Posted by Noiresque at January 19, 2009 7:40 AM

comment #12

Rich S. says ...

Whoa, I didn't make the connection with Blint at all until you guys pointed it out. She was terrific in that episode, as were all concerned.

Posted by Rich S. at January 19, 2009 7:50 AM

comment #13

Ju-osh says ...

Here's a link to a streaming version of the Doctor Who episode mentioned above:
http://tvokay.com/m.php?l=aHR0cDovL21lZ2FzdGljLmNvbS9UdlNob3dzL2VwaXNvZGVFeHQucGhwP2lkPTE0JnNlYXNvbj0zJmVwaXNvZGU9MTA=

Posted by Ju-osh at January 19, 2009 8:53 AM

comment #14

George Prager says ...

Yes, she is capable of some serious, uh, ownage, in those Masterpiece Theater things and "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard" in particular. Can't wait to see this.

Posted by George Prager at January 19, 2009 9:12 AM

comment #15

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Wait...she's playing a 16 year-old in this? Sorry, but that just kinda set off my B.S.-meter...what the hell is this, London, 77772 (yes, that was a lame Aaron Spelling joke)?

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at January 19, 2009 11:15 AM

comment #16

Essay Writing says ...

What knocked me out? It is how the writer coined her words. There is nothing in this world that I would ever consider as perfect, so I will mark this one, close to perfect!

I love the irony, the character in the words!Awesome!

Posted by Essay Writing at May 25, 2010 3:21 AM

comment #17

metin says ...

Wow, there's something fiercely brilliant about such a simple image..very interesting though.
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comment #18

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