"An Education"

Welp. Turns out my commitment not to see mediocre movies didn't last very long. There were a lot of things to love about this movie, of course. The lead performances were fantastic, even if Peter Sarsgaard's accent was kind of terrible. And there were a few moments that felt really great and importnat.

But overall, this was just a movie. A pretty basic romantic drama that thinks it's more important than it is. The movie wants you to believe it is about womanhood and maturity and realizing what is important in life. But the fact is, any film that paints a failed affair with (SPOILER ALERT) a somewhat troubled or dishonest man as a dire situation for a young girl in the prime of her life is just not going to do it for me.

What I mean is, the film makes it pretty clear that a few bad decisions on the part of our protagonist make her a pariah in her school and almost ruin her life. The stakes still never really fell that high, though, in a culture where crippling poverty, teen pregnancy, illness, and the collapse of families is the usual backdrop to these kinds of coming-of-age-in-difficult-situations films. It doesn't feel important. But it was enjoyable, I suppose. Let's say 6 out of 10.