'An Education' Is Just That, and Delightfully So

Those of you looking for a quiet break from the holiday scuffle (and, no, I don't mean "shuffle"), might want to try the marvelous coming of age movie "An Education" at the Grandin Theatre. It's a small movie written by novelist Nick Hornby and starring fresh-faced Carey Mulligan and always-solid Peter Sarsgaard.

The story centers around Jenny (Mulligan), a 16-year-old high school student, who has been tightly guarded both at home and at her gray-clad girls school. The idea--at least according to Jenny's father, marvelously rendered by one of my favorites, Alfred Molina, is obsessed with sending her to Oxford and she is compliant until she meets a wealthy older man whose primary goal in life is to have fun. Sarsgaard is the suave, smooth-talking older man who has a way not only with Jenny, but also with her parents.

The movie has a certain predictability to it, but the journey--often very funny, at times touching and trying at the same instant--is a delight.

This one's showing at the Grandin Theatre and is probably in its last week. It has the added benefit of being shown in the intimate screening room, if you have a date (and your spouse is considered a date).