What I Watched -- An Education

John Dewey said that "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." The reverse is also true: life is, as the title says, An Education. And so it was for Jenny, the 1960s suburban London schoolgirl whose life is changed by an encounter with a stranger on a rainy day.

That stranger is David, a charming and sometimes creepy older man who, for reasons that we can probably all guess, is interested in sixteen-year-old Jenny, played by relative newcomer Carey Mulligan. David exposes Jenny to a life she could only have dreamed of before, where money means nothing and a girl can do whatever she wants. Carey does a wonderful job juxtaposing the different aspects of Jenny's personality. For example, there are some scenes where Jenny possesses the self-awareness and conviction that you would expect of someone twice her age -- someone more like David's age -- and other scenes where she so clearly needs and even desires the guidance of a parent or teacher. Though there are moments where Jenny is too young or inexperienced to know what is going on in David's life, she knows something is, and she's going to decide for herself whether that something is acceptable to her.

This movie is both fantastic and a little bit disturbing, for reasons I haven't quite put my finger on yet. Just one of those ones that you keep thinking about even after it's over. In any case, I'd recommend it.

P.S. Keep your eye out for a special guest star, playing the headmistress of Jenny's school.

P.P.S. Remember how much I loved Lisbeth Salander, the title character from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Well, IMDB reports a rumor that Carey Mulligan is going to play her in the upcoming English-speaking version of the movie! Here's hoping the casting rumors are true!