An Education (2009) Review

"I feel old, but not very wise."- Jenny

London, 1961. To Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan), the whole country is bored. She wants to do what she wants, but is struggling to do so with her parents, in particular her father Jack (Alfred Molina), being so controlling. The opportunity for Jenny to break away from her mundane life arrives in the form of the charming David Goldman (Peter Sarsgaard). With David, Jenny starts to live her ideal lifestyle. But will she realise how important an education can be, before she throws it all away? Receiving three Academy Award nominations, An Education is an emotional tale that is made all the more powerful through its fantastic performances, and helped to bring the talents of actress Carey Mulligan into the limelight. Mulligan is an actress that many, including myself, consider to be one of the finest of her generation. On the back of a film like An Education, it's not hard to see why.

It's hard not to talk about An Education without of course mentioning the performances. I hadn't seen much of the cast's previous work before watching the film, but I admired the performances in those films and in An Education. I was only really familiar with Alfred Molina in the blockbuster films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Spiderman 2 (2004), so to see him in a film focused more on drama and realism was nice. His character Jack provides much of the drama when present, with his attitudes towards education and his overly protective nature being the cause of Jenny's desire to strive for what she wants in life. However, he is also a sympathetic character, with Molina's best moment coming towards the end, when he speaks to Jenny from outside her room. Avoiding any major spoilers, he talks to her about the way David wasn't who she said he was, and it's this moment that shows how much he cares about his daughter: "All my life I've been scared, and I didn't want you to be scared". Peter Sarsgaard as David is also good, providing a well acted balance of charm and deviousness. As the film progresses it becomes clearer that he isn't as charming as Jenny first saw, with his work seeming to take priority over allowing Jenny to spend time with him. He is a difficult character to read, and so the intrigue is there to find out what exactly he is hiding from Jenny. Although the supporting cast are strong, Mulligan's performance as Jenny cannot be topped. Not only delivering the dialogue with strong wit and charm, but by conveying so many emotions through her facial expressions. In one particular scene, she perfectly portrays the shock and delight of a marriage proposal from David, and is conflicted as to weather to accept or not. Mulligan allows the scene to garner enough tension, before simply asking David to take her home. It is Mulligan's calm delivery that makes a simple line such as "take me home" give the film more emotional investment in her character, and is totally deserving of her Academy Award nomination.

Mulligan's portrayal of Jenny is aided by strong writing, developing her character as she learns more about David and moves closer to living the way she wants. There is plenty of teen angst, and so she does make mistakes and lets her emotions rule in place of thought. She is bright, but is still unsure over the importance of an education. In one scene, she meets with the headmistress (Emma Thompson) to discuss her plans to go to Paris and lose her virginity to David. Here, Jenny vents her frustrations at how boring her life would be were she to stay in education, with her being on the cusp of escaping from all her problems with David. It is moments like these where the audience can relate to Jenny, with the writing presenting her as someone with the troubles teenagers face, rather than have her be the bright student with absolutely no problems whatsoever.  There is some nice cinematography too, especially during the Paris scenes. It compliments the nature of the scenes very well, as Jenny has always wanted to go to Paris, and so we see the city at its most beautiful, and the camera is always focused on Jenny as she explores. Director Lone Scherfig further creates a blissful atmosphere with his placement of Jenny and David within these scenes, with one shot having them surrounded by the city whilst overlooking a river, making a picturesque moment and the perfect shot to demonstrate Jenny's happiness.

An Education is a delightful film. It's well acted with emotional investment in the characters, aided by good writing, direction and cinematography. Although the ending is slightly rushed, the events beforehand provide a satisfactory culmination of the romance and Jenny's attitude towards education. Above all, we can thank An Education for introducing Carey Mulligan to wider audiences, and her performance as Jenny will stand as testament to her abilities as an actress for years to come.

Pros:
+ Star-making performance by Carey Mulligan.
+ Emotional investment in all the characters.
+ Cinematography that compliments the story very well.

Cons:
- Rushed ending, although ultimately satisfying with how the characters end up, it all seems to happen too fast after the conflicts are resolved.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Review

"I am a teacher and a leader" - Martha

Provocative, disturbing, and not easily forgotten, first time director Sean Durkin draws you in with his debut film, Martha Marcy May Marlene. Whether it be the stunning lead performance from Elizabeth Olsen or the unsettling atmosphere, I couldn't help but be completely engrossed in the story and characters. Martha Marcy May Marlene instantly left an impression on me, and its power can be testified through the fact that I consider it one of my favourite films of all time after just one viewing.

Right from the opening, the film builds suspense in the way it depicts the lives of a cult living on a farm, lead by the charismatic Patrick (John Hawkes). We see that the members of this cult all have a role to play on the farm, and that the women are possibly seen as less important than the men, as they are only able to eat together after the men are finished. One morning, without any explanation, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) runs away from the cult, and she calls her older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) for her to pick her up. Martha must then adapt back to her old life with her family, made all the more complicated with her getting to know Lucy's husband Ted (Hugh Dancy), while struggling to escape the trauma of her living with the cult for two years beforehand.

Martha Marcy May Marlene's real power are the performances, with Elizabeth Olsen of course being the standout. Throughout the film, we see the life she is living with her sister intertwined with her two years with the cult, and Olsen has to perform a massive range of emotions, from her initial happiness on the farm to her fragile state afterwards. She is completely convincing with how she portrays every stage of her character's life. I was looking forward to seeing Hugh Dancy's performance in this film, having been very much impressed with his portrayal of Will Graham in the television series Hannibal. He doesn't disappoint here, with his character being affected by the arrival of Martha into his life, Dancy is totally believable as man struggling to deal with his love for her as a new member of his family, and his frustration of her challenging his lifestyle. This makes for fantastic drama, aided by Sarah Paulson as Lucy, who is torn between wanting to help her damaged sister, and starting a family with Ted. It is the moments where all three of them are together that are the most memorable, with the tension between them growing with each scene, eventually leading up to a confrontation that is a brilliant culmination of the film's events. John Hawkes is also good, with his portrayal of cult leader Patrick not coming accross as the obvious "villain" role, but certainly with enough to make you feel uneasy for Martha and the other women living on the farm.

Alongside the stellar performances of the cast, are the thought provoking themes of corruption and identity, both of which play a big part in creating the film's surreal atmosphere. The depiction of the cult and the actions of Patrick present both themes side by side. Patrick renames all the women that join the cult, and subjects them to their initiation rights of sexual abuse, gaining absolute power and control over them. He renames Martha as Marcy May, and, combined with the dominance Patrick held over her, we begin to understand Martha's unusual behaviour when living with Lucy and Ted. Sean Durkin presents the effects these themes have on Martha as, appropriately, tragic. Martha's unstable grasp on reality and identity is cleverly depicted through her progression of strange actions, such as casually walking in on Lucy and Ted having sex and climbing into the bed, to mood swinging back into her Marcy May personality, echoing Patrick's words and advice to Lucy. Durkin further makes the audience sympathise with Martha's crisis with the use of cinematography, as we are made to feel almost as if we are sat alongside her. This is achieved not through fancy camera movements, but by simply allowing the scene to play out, with a slow, almost unnoticeable zoom in, adding to the tense exchanges and actions between the characters.

Some may not be as captivated by the film as I was, due to its surrealist nature and steady pace. However, Martha Marcy May Marlene held my attention from beginning to end, primarily due to the phenomenal central performance by Elizabeth Olsen and the equally impressive supporting cast. I was not distracted by the challenging themes and their depiction, but rather became more enticed as the characters developed and the story of Martha's two lives progressed. Any film that keeps me thinking about its characters, scenes and the overall impression it left on me, deserves to be recognised as fantastic filmmaking. And without any hesitation, I believe Martha Marcy May Marlene is one the greatest examples of this, and a film I will never forget, as I now consider it one of my all time favourites. Given time and further viewings, I may even consider it to be top of the list. 

Pros:
+ The acting is superb, totally compelling. 
+ Excellent use of cinematography draws the viewer in, very atmospheric.
+ Thought provoking themes  and their depiction will no doubt leave an impression on any viewer.
+ Non-linear story adds to the character development nicely, allowing the audience to sympathise towards Martha and become more engrossed in the events of the film.

Cons:
- Possibly should have been longer, as there is enough material to delve even deeper into Martha's warped mind, and therefore would create more opportunities for further drama and suspense.