An Education

I must say anytime I watch an English or Scottish film I feel all tingly inside because the words they use remind me so much of home. True the Caribbean has African, East-Indian, Syrian, Chinese, Spanish, French and Dutch influences; but the Brits and the Scots in most cases ruled us the last and the longest. I smiled when I heard them speak of tea and biscuits; very common in Trinidad & Tobago, and when the girls spoke of nighties', A-levels and wore uniforms, it brought back so many memories.

I have been wanting to see a Carey Mulligan film since the 2010 Academy Awards as she was new on the scene and had many nominations for her films; I found this film An Education a wonderful one to start with, really confirming her brilliant talent. I'd also want to see her because she was the one lucky enough to snatch Shia LaBeouf before I could get to him; no animosity towards her however; only kudos to his good international taste! J

I must admit I was even more thrilled to see that Emma Thompson had a small part in the film as well. She is definitely one of my favourite people to watch; and I absolutely loved her in one of my beloved films entitled Wit. An Education was set in Mulligan's home-town, the United Kingdom, and I must say it was a magnificent cinematic ride that I think all young girls should take. The script/story of films should always be at the forefront, if you get lost in fluff and antics then I believe the film-maker has failed in spreading the main message to its audience. I believe the writer Lynn Barber & Nick Hornby, and director, Lone Scherfig of this film did a wonderful job at making sure to do just that; spreading the message.

There were some superb camera techniques in this film. I always like when camera-men are able to show reflections in mirrors and capture reflections within car windows; not everyone can pull that off. The soundtrack was good too, I found myself singing along to Smoke without Fire written by Bernard Butler and performed by Duffy. Carey's performance was without a doubt marvelous; I must say she did her part great justice. Some of the logic behind the film though didn't make much sense to me; I found her parents; especially her father's behaviour to be completely wild. He was quite adamant in the beginning about her finishing her secondary schooling to begin her tertiary level education at Oxford University, however it seemed as though just overnight he found it acceptable to have her throw everything away to marry a seemingly wealthy man who was thrice her age. I found that move rather poor and baffling as not only for a parent but also as a father knowing what the world is about. I call it a 'Pride & Prejudice' move; I find it always important for a woman to be able to stand on her own 2 feet and accrue her own wealth, that way no-one would be able to take advantage of her or have her helpless if the relationship goes sour.

Although Notes on a Scandal and The Reader had similar disturbing mis-fit relationship attributes, I found the relationship between Carrie Mulligan (Jenny) and Jack played by Alfred Molina to be more absorbing because even though their ages were enormously different, Carrie's character was a bright and clever one and she seemed at times even more mature than her co-stars.

The film ends abruptly and happily but I would have much rather seen her fight harder and deal with more struggles than for her to only shed a few tears, and a year of extra studies before riding around the grounds of Oxford University campus on bicycle. Her character was almost heartless and disrespectful in the beginning and when she found out her first lover was married, I didn't find myself feeling sorry for her character in the least. I only saw how her foolishness took her there in the first place! I would have also liked to see the character Graham played by Mathew Beard, return in a more stunning light. He was a charming and humble boy that didn't have enough play; he certainly needed to have a turn of events in positive karma after the way she treated him previously. I in fact, related more to his character, and although he didn't have as many speaking parts, I felt his pain much more.