An Education

So bear with me for a minute. I'm going to recommend a film that deals with an older man seducing a smart independent high school girl, but does so with a light sense of humor and, dare I say, an almost whimsical feeling that keeps you from being completely creep-ed out. I'm even going to claim that it paints a vivid picture of 1960's England, and uses the aforementioned seduction to effectively illustrate the changing sexual politics of the era (and thus I satisfy my pretension quota for the hour). The beauty of An Education is that it follows a sixteen year old girl (Carey Mulligan) entering into a relationship with a markedly older man (Peter Saasgard) with the seeming, tacit, consent of her parents (Alfred Molina and Rosemunda Pike), yet manages to balance itself in such a way that you aren't horrified by what's going on. That's not to say the film condones the relationship, it just realizes all the characters to such a degree that all of the interactions feel real, and we're able to at least understand the characters' motivations.

I want to end by saying something to all you Twilight fans. The fact that you're lining up this weekend to watch, to paraphrase another, better, reviewer, a reformed pedophile try to hit on a high school girl means that you're already into this sort of scenario. Therefore why don't you watch An Education, a film that has a coherent script, realistic characters, and an interesting story, instead? I will admit that it doesn't feature any vampires, but go rent Blade II after and you'll be fine. You'll thank me.