Jenny is a book-smart girl of sixteen attending an all girls school to learn Latin and the classics in preparation for her entrance exams to attend Oxford. Her stuffy, restrictive parents push her to excel, but when Jenny meets David, a man in his thirties, he offers her a life of excitement and freedom that puts her thoughts of school far behind her. As their relationship deepens, Jenny learns that David may be more (and less) than he seems.
ClearPlay in Action!
Besides removing a smattering of language and religious exclamations, ClearPlay’s main work is taking the sexuality out of the story. An Education deals with Jenny’s sexual awakening, and these scenes are trimmed, though careful attention to context reveals what happens. This is a film for the older set as it deals with the uncomfortable subject of a minor in an intimate relationship with a far older man.
Should I Get Educated?…
This film alternatively could have been titled, A Parent’s Worst Nightmare. As a father with a sixteen year old girl, the story touched a nerve with me. What kept me interested was wondering which way the story’s morals would fall. There is a strong tension between the perceived freedom of the oft valorized libertine lifestyle and the perceived dullness of the disciplined life of education and work. Fortunately, An Education falls on the right side in the end. Featuring a fine group of actors, this is an effective cautionary tale dealing with a disturbing subject.
Brian Fuller— ClearPlay Educator
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual content, and for smoking.; 100 min; Directed By Lone Scherfig
Posts
