An Education (2009) 7/10

Starring : Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson
Director : Lone Scherfig
Running Time : 96 mins

Sixteen year-old Jenny Mellor (Mulligan) has one ambition in life – to get into Oxford University – but it’s her father Jack (Molina) that is pushing her in this direction as he think it will lead her to a better life. But when Jenny meets David Goldman (Sarsgaard), a much older man who introduces her to a new life of culture that she otherwise may never have experienced, her father starts to think that she doesn’t need an education as she is with a man who will take care of all her needs for her.

This was a decent enough drama, though I expected more comedy considering the screenplay was written by Nick Hornby. Alfred Molina does a great turn as the father of Carey Mulligan, and Mulligan herself manages to play her role with enough vigour to make the movie stay interesting. There are a few twists in the tale which keep this entertaining, but there were some missed opportunities that could have been used to fuller effect.

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