15th
An Education floats along beautifully for 90 minutes, an old idea made somehow fresh, lively, and a little daring. Unfortunately, the last ten minutes thrust the film out of its lovely handmade mold right into the montagiest of montages and the voiceoveriest of voiceovers.
That said, Carey Mulligan shines throughout the picture, but in no place more than while dancing at a race track. Her face conveys so many emotions at once (fun, freedom, longing, lust, guilt, self-awareness, childlike wonder) that fit the character and story perfectly. The picture hangs on Mulligan’s performance; she needs to make the audience like and root for a selfish, know-it-all teenager tasting the first sweet drops of life. And with her large eyes and winning smile (not to mention a hairstyle that can make her look 30 or 13), she succeeds winningly.
Unfortunately the syrupy ending of Nick Hornby’s script leaves you with a toothache instead of a sugar high as you drive home, making you forget how effortlessly the movie once soared.
