In fact, I had to beg my parents to send me to a private academic institute that everyone else was going. "I'm gonna fall behind!" I'd rant, but my dad calmly would say, "you can still keep your grades without going to that."
"...you should tell us why you educate us," firmly says Jenny (Carey Mulligan) to her headmistress (Emma Thompson), after being startled by her parents' reaction to the marriage proposal (you don't need the school if you have a good husband). I paused the movie and thought, yeah, what's the point of the education system when one can learn so much more by "living it"? If you know the answer, or have any idea, please enlighten me. I continued with the film without having a conclusion.I was not happy with Jenny--I could not sympathize nor empathize with her, as you are supposed to with the main actors. Carey was dazzling in her beauty and acting, but I found the character hard to love, unlike for many others. I wondered what she was doing the whole time, when it was clear that she wasn't in love with David (Peter Sarsgaard). And I honestly couldn't imagine that David was married already, like I could from the very beginning when I saw Up in the Air. And up until the revelation, I believed that he was madly in love with Jenny. And maybe he was. But either way, such idea sickens me now.
The father (Alfred Molina) bringing Jenny some tea and biscuits, and telling her about listening to the radio that announced that C.S. Lewis had moved to Cambridge, and all through the closed door, was heartbreaking. I melted with Jenny and with the father, played by one of my favorite actors. What a wonderful scene.
Did I enjoy the movie? Yes--it was smart, well-paced, charmingly-acted, and immensely entertaining. Did I like the movie? Well, yes, I think.
Right after watching the film, I sat still trying to think the message the filmmakers wanted to get through. Education system is bad? But Jenny ends up going to Oxford and lives "happily ever after" with a new boyfriend. Don't trust much older men to be your lover? Well, Jenny knew that he was a con, yet still wanted to take advantage of him. It wasn't about trust, really. Was it?
Lynn Barber, whose memoir was made into the film An Education: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/jun/07/lynn-barber-virginity-relationships
ReplyDeleteI watched this movie on a long plane flight. I'm with you; I thought Jenny was quite stupid. And it was awkward watching parts unfold with other people sitting next to me. And yet, I couldn't really turn it off either. Um, moral? Sometimes you need to learn from your own mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI'm late to this conversation, but I heartily and happily disagree with you, Teresa; I love Jenny. For much of the film, and part of me even now, I agreed with her questions and initial decisions--life is boring, and if neither her parents nor her instructors can give her a good reason to continue her studies, why should she? Too often, high schoolers are herded in to a college without knowing why, without caring to learn why, and without any reason to. It's difficult--near impossible--to get angry at Alfred Molina, so I wasn't, but I was against his protective and limiting expectations for his daughter.
ReplyDeleteBottom line: Jenny was bored, and if her heart wasn't in her studies, in Oxford, and so forth, than she shouldn't have tried to tell herself otherwise. I firmly believe that she was capable of amazing feats--the film is pretty clear on her potential--and maybe she "learned her lesson" and went on happily to Oxford, but another strong possibility might have existed, that she wasn't for higher education. Neither, however, was she for a life of hedonism and entertainment--as much as I love jazz and wine. At its heart, the story is Jenny's coming-of-age. What it says about education is a question yet. I freaking love this movie.
Also: Hani, please warn about spoilers.
Oh yeah..SPOILERS: DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "AN EDUCATION" OR "UP IN THE AIR."
ReplyDelete...you LOVE Jenny?