Re An Education

You'll probably have to click on the title of this post to read the whole thing. Beware, there are plenty of spoilers after the jump.

An education is the story of a sixteen year-old girl, Jenny, who falls for an older man. The brilliance of this movie is that you know more or less what is going to happen, but it still unfolds in a way that makes you think maybe this time will be the exception. The movie does this through well developed characters that we trust to escape the cliche traps, but, who despite their best efforts end up the inclusion that proves the rule.

 Jenny is a cute, smart, diligent student, with a love for classical music and art. She's also has an adolescent obsession with French music, existentialism, and Paris. David is wealthy, world-wise, cultured, charismatic and very persuasive.

They have a chance meeting at Jenny's orchestra practice. At first we're suspicious of this thirty-something man in his sports car because it doesn't seem right for him to have such an interest in a 16-year old girl. Nevertheless, David continually assure us that he has nothing but the best intentions. On their first meeting, David simply offers to give Jenny a ride home--or rather to give her cello a ride home, as he knows it is inappropriate to offer a young girl a ride. It's just that he'd hate to see the cello damaged. Jenny walks along the car and they talk. He's witty and self-effacing, and seems only interest in Jenny the way a avuncular family friend would be, discussing her education and love of music. At the end of the trip, our only regret is that Jenny didn't ride in the car too. She's drenched for no reason.

Their shared love of music evolves into outings and trips, each subsequent outing is longer and further from home. Every invitation is accompanied by a nod to propriety, but somehow, the measures that would normally be taken when a 16 year-old goes on trip with an unrelated male adult never happen. Of course, that's because of some deception on Jenny's and David's part, but no bother, because even on overnight trips, David never presses his advantage. Jenny is in control, and she is, after all, a very smart girl.

We learn things about David and Jenny along the way. We learn he makes his money moving black people into a apartment buildings, and then buying the apartments for cheap because the old women that own the apartments are prejudiced. It's a sleazy thing to do. But then, isn't the real problem with the old women? Maybe they are just getting their just deserts for being prejudiced.

Jenny changes from a girl to woman. Her straight bangs are swept; Her hair is up; she abandon's her school uniform for beautiful dresses. Instead of listening to French albums in her bedroom, she flies to Paris for a weekend, spends time at the dog track, or at Oxford. David, on the other hand, becomes more adolescent, specifically in the bedroom where his pillow-talk is more like baby-talk. The disparity in maturity and sophistication between the two disappears, then reverses.

School becomes unimportant to Jenny. She debates her teacher and principal, believing school doesn't get her where she wants to end up. School is hard, they say, but it's the only way to get into college to get a good job down the road. What "good" is a job if its just as unenjoyable as school? No one seems to have an answer.

So she pursues her relationship with David instead of school. Her parents love David. Everything is great, until all our fears are realized and the house of cards comes crashing down. Then she has to pick up the pieces. There she is, in her grown up clothes, with her grown-up hair, but we now can see through all of it, back to the seventeen year-old girl.

An Education is a case study in conservatism or traditionalism; an example of the principles expounded in A Conflict of Vision, or maybe just most taught by most religions. No matter how smart we are, there are reasons we have rules and institutions. Even when we can't articulate reasons to follow those rules, we need to follow them. As Jenny finally realized, there are no "shortcuts to the life I want." Teenage girls need parents. They need to study, get good grades, to go to college and avoid older men.  Small, insignificant deviations from these rules can result in disaster.

In the end, Jenny manages to pick up the pieces and salvage her dreams, getting accepted to Oxford. That's probably fair. There aren't that many mistakes a 17 year-old girl can make, that she can't mostly fix. Still there are some. If there's one flaw in the movie, its that it allows complete redemption. But I guess no one wants to watch a movie with a sad ending.

Conclusion: I highly recommend this well acted, well directed, profound and moving film.