An Education
An Education (2009)
Summary: Jenny is a teenager in 1960s England studying hard to get into Oxford. One day she meets David, a charming older man. He shows her things she never knew before. Classical concerts, trips to Oxford, weekend getaways to Paris. It's all so sweet and charming. And it, of course, doesn't have a fairy tale ending. I could say more... but I've realized I don't want to spoil the movies for anyone reading this.
Pros: I hadn't seen this movie before. I bought it dirt cheap at a Movie Gallery that was going out of business. I knew it got critical acclaim and was nominated for some Oscars. So I figured it would probably be one of those artsy films that I usually end up hating, even though the critics love it. But I didn't! I actually quite enjoyed it. David and Jenny have a cute relationship. David is very charming. He didn't seem like an older creep taking advantage of a 16 year old. I truly believed they cared about each other. The intimate scenes were really quite sweet and realistic. I actually liked David after a few scenes when I realized he wasn't a creep. It's well acted, well written. I loved all the 1960s dresses!!
Cons: David's friend (Danny?) kind of creeped me out and I kept waiting for him to do something awful. The Jenny-at-school scenes could have been a bit better. I knew she was working towards Oxford, but I didn't really get a feel for her schooling. Jenny was pretty naive (but she's 16 and in love for the first time, so of course she is...). I knew it probably wasn't going to have a happy ending, and I was waiting for something to shatter David's charming image. But I was heartbroken when the ending actually happened. (Even though David did seem to care and seemed broken up about losing her).
Keep or Toss: Eh. I don't know. I'm not eager to try and get rid of it. But I'm not dying to keep it either. If I had seen it before buying it, I probably wouldn't have bought it.
Rating: 3/5. It's worth seeing and is a good story about first loves and being caught up in the excitement of being with someone you shouldn't be with. But it's not something I would have bought. I'd willingly watch it again, though.