Oscar Big 10 Challenge: Mission Accomplished with "An Education"

The Big 10 challenge is finally complete! I've officially seen all ten best picture nominations, and just in time for the Academy Awards on March 7. This journey started early last year with The Hurt Locker, and this past weekend, I rounded it out with An Education. All I can say is that all the movies nominated in the Oscar best picture category this year are vastly different, thanks in part to the expansion of the category from 5 to 10, but mostly due to the fact that this year at the cinema has truly been something different. The nominees range from a charming, animated movie with a talking dog and a house of balloons, to a heartbreaking drama of a young, heavily abused girl growing up in Harlem.

Today: An Education.

This is a coming of age story of a young, 16 year old schoolgirl who lives a very ordinary, routine lifestyle and suddenly meets a wealthy, mysterious, older man who sweeps her off her feet. Jenny is a francophile, an intellectual, an art and music lover, and a girl who's confined by her own quaint lifestyle because of her overbearing parents. She becomes instantly charmed by David and the lavish lifestyle he lives. He takes her to concerts to listen to beautiful music and to Paris, so she can feel chic, French, and older than she really is. Throughout the movie she struggles with an education-- one that involves a flirtation with glamour and the finer things in life, and another that involves an Oxford education.

This movie was great on so many levels, but mostly it succeeded in its simplicity and relatibility. I think alot of people can relate to Jenny, particularly young women, who dream of finding their white knight, and being rescued from a life of boredom and innocence. What we learn from Jenny though, is that there are no shortcuts in life, and anything that makes us think otherwise is only temporary and illusory.

The cast was fantastic, and I really loved Alfred Molina as Jenny's father. The real standout in this movie though was most definitely Carey Mulligan's performance as Jenny. There's something so effortless about the way she acts, and the scenes in which David takes Jenny to Paris, you can feel her youthful effervescence, and you can't but help but be charmed by her close likening to Audrey Hepburn. I can definitely say that her Oscar nomination is very well deserved, and I'm crossing my fingers for her at the Academy Awards. I'd be so incredibly happy to see either Carey or Gabby Sidibe of Precious win in the best actress category. I'm saying this knowing fully well that either Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep are favored to win. It pains me to say this because I do love my Meryl oh-so-much, but I can't say with certainty that her performance in Julie&Julia really deserves another Oscar win. As for Sandra, I think I've been pretty clear about her performance in The Blind Side. Great Friday night rental, and a great performance, but it's just that-- a great movie and a great performance to watch if you need suggestions for your Netflix queue.

Will An Education take home an Oscar for best picture? No, but it's truly great and worth a viewing. In all honesty, Carey's performance overshadows the movie, and because of that, it won't be getting an Oscar, but Carey may be getting hers.

My final thoughts on An Education: A simple, but beautiful coming of age movie about a girl who struggles with an education--one that involves university and a "boring" life of boys and books, and one that involves a life with a man and what seem to be the finer things in life. Watch and become impressed by Carey Mulligan's performance.

See my review of Avatar here.