An Education
Encyclopedia
An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film
, based on an autobiographical article in Granta
by British journalist Lynn Barber
. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig
from a screenplay by Nick Hornby
, and stars Carey Mulligan
as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard
as David, the charming Jewish conman who seduces her. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards
in 2009 including Best Picture
and Best Actress
for Carey Mulligan.
An Education premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
to critical acclaim. It screened on 10 September 2009 at the Toronto International Film Festival
and was featured at the Telluride by the Sea Film Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 19 September 2009. The film was shown on 9 October 2009, at the Mill Valley Film Festival
. It was released in the US on 16 October 2009 and in the UK on 30 October 2009.
When David proposes marriage, Jenny accepts and leaves school. She then discovers David is already married. When she reveals her discovery to David, he drops out of sight. Jenny despairs, feeling she has thrown her life away, but with the help of her favourite teacher, resumes her studies and is accepted at Oxford the following year.
created the screenplay based on an autobiographical essay by the British journalist Lynn Barber
about her schoolgirl affair with Jewish conman Simon Prewalski, referred to by her as Simon Goldman, which was published in the literary magazine Granta
. Barber's full memoir, An Education, was not published in book form until June 2009, when filming had already been completed. Hornby said that what appealed to him in the memoir was that "She's a suburban girl who's frightened that she's going to get cut out of everything good that happens in the city. That, to me, is a big story in popular culture. It's the story of pretty much every rock 'n' roll band." Although the screenplay involved Hornby writing about a teenage girl, he did not feel it was more challenging than writing any other character: "I think the moment you're writing about somebody who's not exactly you, then the challenge is all equal. I was glad that everyone around me on this movie was a woman so that they could watch me carefully. But I don't remember anyone saying to me, 'That isn't how women think.'"
, Middlesex
(incorrectly referred to as 'Twickenham, London' - Twickenham did not become part of Greater London till 1965), the residential scenes featured in the film were shot on location in the Gunnersbury
area of Ealing
, west London
as well as Mattock Lane in West Ealing
and The Japanese School in Acton
, which used to be the site of the girls' school called Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
. The area is convincingly arranged to appear as it would have in the 1960s, with the only noticeable exception being the 1990s-era street lighting. There are several other anachronisms, such as a police two-tone horn at a time when bells were still used, the skirt lengths and hairstyles of the schoolgirls, and the fact that St John's Smith Square was not opened as a concert hall until 1969. The Pentax camera featured in the film (at 1.02.11) appears to be a Pentax S1 (or similar), which was available at the time.
, based on 164 critics' reviews.
The film's release immediately raised questions regarding the necessity of having the conman be Jewish, a theme that plays into traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes. In an interview with The Forward, Hornby explained that he had wrestled with this question and had decided to remain faithful to the original essay, where the lead character is a Jewish conman. Hornby said he did not see the conman as particularly greedy, only a "petty criminal" but that he also hopes that "we’re beyond the point where you can only show ethnic and religious groups in a positive light".
Hornby also explained that the anti-Semitic comments by certain characters in the film upset people because "we didn’t kill the characters that make antisemitic remarks — that they’re not actually punished within the film. I think that people are not used to the idea that people go unpunished in movies".
However critics such as Joe Baltake
argue that the film's plot itself goes out of its way to justify these anti-Semitic outbursts: "the ethnicity of her lover is unnecessarily made a crucial part in her betrayal". Irina Bragin argues that the film presents the stereotypical greedy and dishonest "wandering Jew" as the counter-stereotype to "refined, attractive, honest, sober and hard working" British Christian values.
award for Best Hollywood Breakthrough Performance for a Female.
It was selected as Sight & Sound
's film of the month.
The film was nominated for three Academy Awards
: Best Picture
, Best Actress
for Carey Mulligan
and Best Adapted Screenplay. The 63rd British Academy Film Awards
saw the film come away with one award (for Best Actress) from nine nominations. The film received six British Independent Film Awards
nominations and five Satellite Awards
nominations.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, based on an autobiographical article in Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
by British journalist Lynn Barber
Lynn Barber
Lynn Barber is a British journalist, who writes for The Sunday Times.-Early life:Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School...
. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig
Lone Scherfig
Lone Scherfig is a Danish film director. She graduated in 1984, and began her career as a director with "A Birthday Trip". She is part of the Dogme 95 film movement, which espouses a form of cinéma vérité She made her mark with the Dogme95-film, Italian for Beginners , a romantic comedy which...
from a screenplay by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
, and stars Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
as David, the charming Jewish conman who seduces her. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
in 2009 including Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for Carey Mulligan.
An Education premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
2009 Sundance Film Festival
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival.-Award winners:*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - We Live in Public...
to critical acclaim. It screened on 10 September 2009 at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and was featured at the Telluride by the Sea Film Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 19 September 2009. The film was shown on 9 October 2009, at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual, non-competitive film festival presented by the California Film Institute. Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a non-competitive environment for exhibiting independent and world cinema.Founded in 1978 by MVFF...
. It was released in the US on 16 October 2009 and in the UK on 30 October 2009.
Plot
In 1961 London, Jenny Mellor is a 16-year-old schoolgirl, on track to enter Oxford University when she meets a charming Jewish conman, David Goldman, who pursues her romantically. He takes her to concerts, clubs, and fine restaurants, and easily charms her parents into approving of the relationship. When Jenny recognizes that David is a con man who makes money through a variety of shady practices, she is initially shocked but silences her misgivings in the face of David's persuasive charm.When David proposes marriage, Jenny accepts and leaves school. She then discovers David is already married. When she reveals her discovery to David, he drops out of sight. Jenny despairs, feeling she has thrown her life away, but with the help of her favourite teacher, resumes her studies and is accepted at Oxford the following year.
Cast
- Carey MulliganCarey MulliganCarey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
as Jenny Mellor - Peter SarsgaardPeter SarsgaardJohn Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
as David Goldman - Dominic CooperDominic CooperDominic Edward Cooper is an English actor. He has worked in TV, film, theatre and radio, in productions including Mamma Mia!, The Duchess, The History Boys, and The Devil's Double.- Early life :...
as Danny, David's friend and partner in crime (Orlando BloomOrlando BloomOrlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
was originally cast in this role, but dropped out before shooting began). - Rosamund PikeRosamund PikeRosamund Mary Elizabeth Pike is a British actress. Her film roles include villainous Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Helen in An Education, Lisa in Made in Dagenham, Miriam Grant-Panofsky in Barney's Version and Kate Sumner in Johnny English...
as Helen, Danny's girlfriend. - Alfred MolinaAlfred MolinaAlfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
as Jack Mellor, Jenny's father. - Cara SeymourCara SeymourCara Seymour is an English actress of stage and screen. She has appeared in many ensemble casts for acclaimed films such as American Psycho, Adaptation., Gangs of New York, Hotel Rwanda, and The Savages....
as Marjorie Mellor, Jenny's mother. - Emma ThompsonEmma ThompsonEmma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
as Miss Walters, the headmistress at Jenny's school. - Olivia WilliamsOlivia WilliamsOlivia Haigh Williams is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films and television series.-Early life:Williams was born in Camden Town, London, England...
as Miss Stubbs, Jenny's concerned teacher. - Sally HawkinsSally HawkinsSally Cecilia Hawkins is an English actress. Her performance as Poppy in the 2008 film Happy-Go-Lucky won her several international awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy...
as Sarah Goldman, David's wife. - Matthew BeardMatthew Beard (British actor)Matthew Beard is an English film, model and television actor, best known for his role as Blake Morrison in the 2007 film And When Did You Last See Your Father?.-Life and career:Beard was born in London, England...
as Graham, a boy Jenny knows from the Youth Orchestra they play in. - Ellie KendrickEllie KendrickEllie Kendrick is a British actress best known for playing Anne Frank in the BBC's 2009 miniseries The Diary of Anne Frank.Kendrick said she was "absolutely terrified" at the thought of playing the 15 year-old Anne Frank...
as Tina, Jenny's friend from school. - Beth RowleyBeth Rowley-Background:Rowley was born to British parents who moved back to Bristol, England from Peru when Rowley was two years old.-Early career:She was influenced by her family's love for many different musical styles, particularly blues, country, folk, gospel and Latin American music. When aged 16, Rowley...
as a nightclub singer.
Writing
Nick HornbyNick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
created the screenplay based on an autobiographical essay by the British journalist Lynn Barber
Lynn Barber
Lynn Barber is a British journalist, who writes for The Sunday Times.-Early life:Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School...
about her schoolgirl affair with Jewish conman Simon Prewalski, referred to by her as Simon Goldman, which was published in the literary magazine Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
. Barber's full memoir, An Education, was not published in book form until June 2009, when filming had already been completed. Hornby said that what appealed to him in the memoir was that "She's a suburban girl who's frightened that she's going to get cut out of everything good that happens in the city. That, to me, is a big story in popular culture. It's the story of pretty much every rock 'n' roll band." Although the screenplay involved Hornby writing about a teenage girl, he did not feel it was more challenging than writing any other character: "I think the moment you're writing about somebody who's not exactly you, then the challenge is all equal. I was glad that everyone around me on this movie was a woman so that they could watch me carefully. But I don't remember anyone saying to me, 'That isn't how women think.'"
Recreating 1961 England
Although Jenny's family home and her school are supposed to be in the suburb of TwickenhamTwickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
(incorrectly referred to as 'Twickenham, London' - Twickenham did not become part of Greater London till 1965), the residential scenes featured in the film were shot on location in the Gunnersbury
Gunnersbury
Gunnersbury is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow, with its northern edge in the London Borough of Ealing, west London. It has an area of less than half a square kilometre and is within the west area of the Chiswick W4 postal district of London....
area of Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as well as Mattock Lane in West Ealing
West Ealing
West Ealing is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in west London.-History:West Ealing in its present form is less than 100 years old....
and The Japanese School in Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
, which used to be the site of the girls' school called Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls is an academically high-achieving British independent school in Elstree, near Borehamwood, in the county of Hertfordshire. It is often known as "Habs" or "Habs girls", to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School...
. The area is convincingly arranged to appear as it would have in the 1960s, with the only noticeable exception being the 1990s-era street lighting. There are several other anachronisms, such as a police two-tone horn at a time when bells were still used, the skirt lengths and hairstyles of the schoolgirls, and the fact that St John's Smith Square was not opened as a concert hall until 1969. The Pentax camera featured in the film (at 1.02.11) appears to be a Pentax S1 (or similar), which was available at the time.
Release
Critical response
The film currently holds a 94 percent "Fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 164 critics' reviews.
Box office
An Education grossed £1,633,504 from its domestic release and $26,096,852 worldwide.Allegations of anti-Semitism
The film's release immediately raised questions regarding the necessity of having the conman be Jewish, a theme that plays into traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes. In an interview with The Forward, Hornby explained that he had wrestled with this question and had decided to remain faithful to the original essay, where the lead character is a Jewish conman. Hornby said he did not see the conman as particularly greedy, only a "petty criminal" but that he also hopes that "we’re beyond the point where you can only show ethnic and religious groups in a positive light".
Hornby also explained that the anti-Semitic comments by certain characters in the film upset people because "we didn’t kill the characters that make antisemitic remarks — that they’re not actually punished within the film. I think that people are not used to the idea that people go unpunished in movies".
However critics such as Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake is an American movie critic, film historian and author of the film blog, The Passionate Moviegoer . A Jack Lemmon biographer, his work has been syndicated by Knight-Ridder, Scripps Howard News Service and the McClatchy Wire Serevice.Baltake's film reviewing career started at Gannett's...
argue that the film's plot itself goes out of its way to justify these anti-Semitic outbursts: "the ethnicity of her lover is unnecessarily made a crucial part in her betrayal". Irina Bragin argues that the film presents the stereotypical greedy and dishonest "wandering Jew" as the counter-stereotype to "refined, attractive, honest, sober and hard working" British Christian values.
Accolades
An Education won the Audience Choice award and the Cinematography award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Mulligan won a Hollywood Film FestivalHollywood Film Festival
The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual Film festival which is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Festival was established in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington....
award for Best Hollywood Breakthrough Performance for a Female.
It was selected as Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
's film of the month.
The film was nominated for three Academy Awards
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
: Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
and Best Adapted Screenplay. The 63rd British Academy Film Awards
63rd British Academy Film Awards
The 63rd British Academy Film Awards, hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, took place on 21 February 2010 and honoured the best films of 2009. The Hurt Locker took home the most awards, receiving 6 BAFTAS...
saw the film come away with one award (for Best Actress) from nine nominations. The film received six British Independent Film Awards
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
nominations and five Satellite Awards
Satellite Awards 2009
The 2009 Satellite Awards, honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, DVDs, and interactive media, were presented by the International Press Academy at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday, December 20, 2009...
nominations.