An Education - **** out of ****

After I finally watched this film, I was overtaken by the characters most of all. Every single actor owns their role and becomes something that should be re-watched and studied years from now. An up-and-coming actress, Carey Mulligan, carries the show, causing emotional depth and crafting a specific character through no cut-corners or easy solutions. This is the best acting I've witnessed since Helen Mirren's work in "The Queen." Every other character is supporting, but each actor shows that they are up to the extraordinary task of running their own show.

The script is one of the finest of the year. Adapted from Lynn Barber's memoirs, the drama follows Jenny (Mulligan), a 16 year-old schoolgirl who becomes seduced by a 30-something rich man, David (Peter Sarsgaard). She is in her final year of school and is looking at going to Oxford, but the sudden wrench thrown in her plans seems to become the only solution. She doesn't quite love the man (she never says those words throughout the movie), but what he can provide for her is beyond what she believes an education can provide.

I'll say absolutely no more about the plot- discover it for yourself. Carey Mulligan is quite possibly the finest newcomer, showing us a girl becoming a woman that is conflicted, intelligent, and above all in a struggle against the times. She seems to be a character from today crafted in the 1960's. This could have been the cause of a straight-out comedy, but the way it's handled is that of grace and sophistication, showing her as forward-thinking yet naive. This character of contradictions is never questioned and is a site to behold.

Peter Sarsgaard is an actor that I unfairly believed was beyond depths of characterization, but he makes the role of David one of seduction and mystery. I saw his work in "Flightplan," "The Cell," and "The Skeleton Key," but I failed to consider what he accomplished in "Jarhead." In this role, he goes above and beyond the call of duty and creates such an interesting character that I would be willing to read his own memoirs. Finding out about how he gets the money he has could have transformed this drama into a one-note thriller, and what keeps us in the dramatic territory is his genuine approach to the part. I haven't watched all the nominees, but methinks he was robbed for a Supporting Oscar nomination.

The script is brilliant, and I'm not just saying that because of its status in 2007 in Variety magazine as one of the best unpublished screenplays. The dialogue is captivating, the characters are written in a manner that are specific yet give room for the actors to add their own depths, and every plot element is believable. This screenplay, from the writer of "About a Boy," "High Fidelity," and "Fever Pitch" seems to be something put in his drawer until producers were bold enough to make it into a film. There was not a second that was wasted yet the movie didn't move too quickly. It dances the line between uncomfortable tension and drama with the element of comedy so well that upon a second viewing when watching it from a writing angle, you feel like it was a highwire act, much like the excellent "Lars and the Real Girl."

The tension we feel as Americans between a 16 year-old girl and a much older man is beyond the word 'pedophile.' We understand the circumstances, and we understand the risks taken in both situation and in writing. I simply can't praise this bold film enough. It's an absolute masterwork fueled by brilliant performances, writing, and direction. This is not only one of the finest films of the year but one of the finest films of the decade. If only I'd have watched it before I wrote my "30 Best" list...

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content involving sexual content, and for smoking.
But it here.