I’ve watched a total of three whole movies. Whole means I didn’t skip to the end. An Education is my favorite of the three.
In An Education, a sixteen year old Jenny meets a charismatic older man who has secrets of his own. She starts to give up all the innocence she ever had. With an eclectic array of supporting characters, An Education is possibly the best film in history.
If you’re not convinced (even though you totally should be) to watch this masterpiece, here are ten reasons that may or may not be sarcastic.
Warning: spoilers!
1. Jenny is perfect.
She’s clever, smart, funny, realistic, and mature in that immature way of teenagers. Honestly, I love her to death. She wants to learn what she wants to learn, do what she wants to do. She wants independence and fun.
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Touche, Jenny, touche.
Note: If you want to compliment me, say I’m like Jenny.
2. Everyone can relate to it.
If you’re a teenager, you’ll relate to Jenny. After all, don’t we all want to have fun and forget about an education? Don’t we all want to be swept off our feet by a charismatic person? Don’t we all dream about love? (Hint: YES)
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Parents and adults will relate to Jenny’s parents. Sometimes it’s hard to make the right choices when it comes to giving advice. We all want the best for our kids, but it’s easy to get tricked. The wrong choices can be disguised as the right. The right choices can appear in so many forms.
Either way, everyone will relate to Jenny’s life. We all want to make memories, but sometimes it’s hard to know how to do it correctly. Passion is searched for, but rarely is it found.
3. Brilliant acting.
Carey Mulligan can act. She’s one of the few actresses I can stand (or sit, depending on your humor.) She’s perfect as Jenny.
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Every actor and actress is convincing in their role.
4. Flawless characters.
By this I mean Jenny, David, Danny and the lot. Each aren’t exactly good people, but they are clearly their own person. In other words, they stay in character. Each character’s actions make sense. It’s easy to understand why the story progresses as it does.
5. Real Life lessons.
An Education is actually based on Lynn Barber’s memoir about (you guessed it) getting seduced by con men over twice your age. What’s so real to me isn’t necessarily the “based on a true story” part of it all but the realization that education truly is important. Before watching An Education, I thought the whole idea of falling for an older guy was ridiculous. Then, An Education educated me, and I realized anything can happen.
Here’s what I learned (both serious and lighthearted):
- Don’t fall for a forty year old con man
- Don’t have sex with said con man
- Education is not to be given up on
- Parents can be really oblivious to everything
- When you realize said con man is a con man, LEAVE THEM IMMEDIATELY
6. Britain + Con Men =Love
For some reason, we Yankees love Britain and British stuff with a passion. (Hey Directioners, I’m watching you!) Now, if you thought con men were charming, well, An Education brings it up to the next level. It’s BRITISH con men in the 1960s with innocent British schoolgirls! You cannot get better than this!
7. Critically Acclaimed.
It’s got a 94 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Do you understand the importance of that? Rotten Tomatoes almost always HATES on films.
8. Good Looking People.
Yes, I do recognize the fact that we like lookign at beautiful things. People naturally choose the aesthetically pleasing over the ugly. So in lieu of that fact, I present the following statement. The people in An Education look beautiful.
How can anyone deny the looks of Dominic Cooper and Peter Saarsgard? (I mean, I have a crush on Danny myself…)
9. There’s everything.
Humor, love, awkwardness, travel, education, marriage, relationships, smoking, music, art…
An Education is cultured. No matter what you’re looking for, you can find it in this movie. I was looking for a great movie, and I found it.
10. It’s smart.
Sometimes (a lot of the time) I find it hard to believe certain characters can act so dumb. In An Education, everyone is smart. They all have their own reasons for making choices, and not one reason is dumb.
Most movies aren’t good for discussion. They are all special effects and no substance. An Education can be discussed for hours on end. It’s just that deep. Simply put, this movie is for smart people.
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