An Education

It is 1962 in a London suburb and a very bright, fresh faced Jenny(Carey Mulligan) is the great hope of her girl's school to be the one to go Oxford. She has what would be called "spirit" in 1962. She is bright, pretty and intensely curious about the adult world she hasn't yet entered. So when a handsome and winsomely charming, and well off, older man (Peter Sarsgaard) begins his seduction, she is a willing follower. The rest of the movie is "an education" for Jenny and her parents, and perhaps her teachers. If I say more, it will ruin the story, so I won't. But if you miss this wonderful film and go to see some crappy movie instead, you've made a mistake. "An Education" is a movie you can talk about at dinner. Jenny is only one person's fool in all of this- and we feel she knows it but doesn't want to end the illusion. You can discuss what would have happened to her had she done various things instead. You can discuss what her parents did or didn't do (keeping in mind that it IS 1962, not 2009.) Because you will leave the theater having cared about her. I loved this movie. And so will you.