MOVIE REVIEW
An Education (2009)
Kerry Brown/Sony Pictures Classics
The tenderness of Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” is positively overpowering, to a degree that even underage-cavorting is easy to forgive — thematically, of course. For her 17th birthday, wise-beyond-her-years schoolgirl Jenny (played magnificently by newcomer Carey Mulligan) is taken to Paris by the much older David (Peter Saarsgard at his best). Full of worldly charm and sophistication, David represents all that Jenny strives for. Thus, resisting his persistent courtship is all the more difficult. In Paris, she succumbs to his gentleman's flirtation, and the scene — set in a small yet plush hotel room — is sublime. So sweet, that when the narrative butterflies cease to fly and reality sets in, the sight of what’s essentially uncomfortable cradle-rocking achieves the desirability of an enviable romance. By this point into the film, the simplistic beauty of “An Education” has reached the point of no return. An irresistible one-way ticket, it is.