An Education

What’s this, another Brit period drama complete with a cameo by Emma Thompson? Well, yes, in one way it is, but thanks to a sensitive screenplay by Nick Hornby and an excellent performance by newcomer Carey Mulligan, An Education creates far more impact than its premise might suggest. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is sixteen, she lives in dreary Twickenham and is studying hard to get into Oxford. In her spare time she dreams of a life filled with glamour and excitement. When smooth-talking David (Peter Sarsgaard) appears on the scene she is introduced to a world she always dreamed of and intelligent Jenny is faced with a dilemma: to keep slaving away at her studies or pursue a life full of fun. Hornby’s script does an excellent job at capturing this predicament without patronising the central character and there is also a great sense of authenticity which comes from the recreation of early 1960s England, a time before London started to swing.