An Education

Saw this about a month ago. Here were my thoughts immediately after seeing it. My opinion has only gone down from here.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this movie. But I was at least hoping for a nice, atmospheric, cinematic experience. What I ended up with? Meh.

The movie started off way beyond my expectations and is a delicious display of the highest of all this movie's heights. Carey Mulligan immediately steals your heart, her performance running on the fuel of her "cute as a button" energy and likeability in her position of naïvete and vulnerability. Alfred Molina makes you giggle as soon as he thunders out a delivery of a single line and establishes an overpowering dynamic between he and Mulligan that I'm sure Scherfig simply could not have been more pleased with. Saarsgard's character comes along with the perfect charm that makes you believe he could have enticed anyone he wished into his car with full intentions of pulling a Polanski. Their first encounter in the rain was directed by Sherfig with sharp eloquence.

As the movie went on into her actual coming of age and the merging of her new life with David and her old life back home with her parents, the movie started to get a lot more inconsistent for me. The more over the top, expressive facial gestures, and vocal intonations from Molina and Rosamund Pike clashed with the subtleties of Mulligan's girlish giggle and Saarsgard's seductive grin. It was hard for me to decide who was better between Saarsgard and Molina because the (wonderful) performances are tackled so differently in the same context that it's difficult to compare, until seeing their first encounter where I decided that Saarsgard was a lot more convincing in convincing a father to take his daughter out for as late as he wants to than Molina was at being convinced by him. You know? Anyways, not important. The smooth grace of the opening was simply not maintained afterward and by the end nearly fell apart. The editing could have afforded to be more clearer, the cinematography more insistent, the direction more bold.

Mulligan's performance was fine but my enthusiasm for her in the beginning did not hold as she developed her character — it wasn't weak, but simply not as strong. Her persona and delicate presence was perfect to run on the opening on her performance on but she seemed to run out of fuel as she put her hair up. And by the time she had her dramatic and empowering confrontation with her teacher she was decidedly outshone by Olivia Williams' stern performance. In the end, she was only alright at showing her change into adulthood after her experiences were said and done. But, I think any discrepancies in any performance should probably be blamed on Scherfig's not asking enough of her actors, trusting them and depending too much upon them to carry out her film.

Now of course given the nature of this year's Actress selection, she still climbs into my lineup as a strong runner up to Sidibe and could very well stay there for all I know.

One of the brighter spots later in the movie was the montage of Jenny's first visit to Paris, whitewashed with the happiness of the characters and the perfection of their world at that moment. In theory. In terms of craft, however, it ultimately seemed nothing more than a demo for a video software showing you the coolest way to edit your recent vacation photos/home video. Elsewhere in the movie, the random shifts between handicam and steadicam were a bit jarring and out of place while the lower shutter speed/fast editing combo during the horse race was just...bizarre. And at some of the movie's most "dramatic" points, a boring score comes oafishly roaring through.

Ultimately, though...can't say I was a fan.