An Education stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, the bright school girl who blossoms into a sophisticated (though somewhat naive) young woman, with the guidance of David, her charming, much older seducer. Oh lord, where to begin? If there ever was a film that made me want to be a costume designer, this is it. Every dress, shoe, tie and button are to die for. Happily, the acting and cinematography are just as stunning.
This film really resonates with my inner dreamer. As a teenager I longed to be sophisticated, to be in Paris and drink wine by the river. But as Jenny learns, adulthood is not something one can simply jump in to. In one of my favorite moments of the film, Jenny asks her school mistress, played by the brilliant Emma Thompson, if she thinks of Jenny as a ruined woman. Her reply? "You're not a woman." Touché, Ms. Thompson, touché.
