An Education

Jenny, a hard-working suburban London high school girl (Carey Mulligan) gets some real world lessons when an older man (Peter Sarsgaard) picks her up during a rainstorm and essentially sweeps her off her feet. Jenny and her anxious father, Jack (Alfred Molina), have always had a master plan for her to attend Oxford, but everything changes when David, a man twice Jenny’s age, comes along. Jenny goes from studying Latin and getting to bed early to weekend trips in Paris and eventually getting engaged, with the happy support of her father. Of course, this is a big life lesson movie, and something is bound to happen. Mulligan is already getting Oscar buzz, as is Molina. Sarsgaard is good as well, although he seems to struggle with his accent a bit at times. Olivia Williams and Emma Thompson are typically great in supporting roles.