An Education (2009)

Set in London in 1961, “An Education” is an intelligent and sophisticated drama that features a performance from Carey Mulligan that is nothing short of astounding. Mulligan stars as Jenny Miller, a 16 year old straight-A student who is introduced to the scary but exhilarating world of adult freedoms and responsibilities through a new and seemingly harmless friendship with a 30ish charmer named David (Peter Sarsgaard).


David’s apparent wealth and worldliness, coupled with his mild nature and self-effacing modesty make him an irresistible package both to Jenny and her squabbling and insecure parents (Albert Molina and Cara Seymour). Through David, a new and exciting world opens up for the diligent Jenny, a world that suddenly puts all of her dreams within her grasp, and with a speed and ease she never expected.


But as we learn in this well constructed story, short cuts to happiness can be treacherous and heartbreaking paths. Director Lone Scherfig works with a clarity and confidence that is reminiscent of David Lean and early Hitchcock. Editor Barney Pilling’s work is invisible and therefore nearly perfect as the film’s surprises unfold at a pace that neither rushes nor drags.


While there are elements of the story that could be considered anti-Semitic by the overly sensitive, screenwriter Nick Hornby does a fine job of finessing these aspects and makes us realize that it is really Britain’s deeply engrained and quite exhausting class warfare that can cause even the most clear-headed to pursue reckless courses of action.


Despite the strong supporting cast, it is the extraordinary work of Carey Mulligan that keeps us enthralled and riveted as this superb film proceeds, and the connection we feel with her enlarges this small scale story into a sort of parable for the way the world has changed since 1961. Jenny’s lost innocence echoes our own, as we have learned that people are not always what they seem, and that the quick and easy route is often the most perilous.

Film Details

An Education (2009)

Set in London in 1961, “An Education” is an intelligent and sophisticated drama that features a performance from Carey Mulligan that is nothing short of astounding. Mulligan stars as Jenny Miller, a 16 year old straight-A student who is introduced to the scary but exhilarating world of adult freedoms and responsibilities through a new and seemingly harmless friendship with a 30ish charmer named David (Peter Sarsgaard).


David’s apparent wealth and worldliness, coupled with his mild nature and self-effacing modesty make him an irresistible package both to Jenny and her squabbling and insecure parents (Albert Molina and Cara Seymour). Through David, a new and exciting world opens up for the diligent Jenny, a world that suddenly puts all of her dreams within her grasp, and with a speed and ease she never expected.


But as we learn in this well constructed story, short cuts to happiness can be treacherous and heartbreaking paths. Director Lone Scherfig works with a clarity and confidence that is reminiscent of David Lean and early Hitchcock. Editor Barney Pilling’s work is invisible and therefore nearly perfect as the film’s surprises unfold at a pace that neither rushes nor drags.


While there are elements of the story that could be considered anti-Semitic by the overly sensitive, screenwriter Nick Hornby does a fine job of finessing these aspects and makes us realize that it is really Britain’s deeply engrained and quite exhausting class warfare that can cause even the most clear-headed to pursue reckless courses of action.


Despite the strong supporting cast, it is the extraordinary work of Carey Mulligan that keeps us enthralled and riveted as this superb film proceeds, and the connection we feel with her enlarges this small scale story into a sort of parable for the way the world has changed since 1961. Jenny’s lost innocence echoes our own, as we have learned that people are not always what they seem, and that the quick and easy route is often the most perilous.

Film Details

Fraulein (2006)

Set in damp, wintry Zurich, “Fraulein” is one of those small scale, grungy melodramas that seems tailor-made for the German language. A series of coincidences unite a successful cafeteria owner named Ruza (Murjana Karanovic) and her assistant Mila (Ljubica Jovic), both émigrés from the old Yugoslavia, with young Ana, a newly arrived and emotionally scarred Bosnian refugee (Marija Skaricic).


Ruza and Mila, now middle-aged, left Yugoslavia decades earlier, before the nation was ravaged by war. When homeless Ana shows up at the cafeteria seeking employment, Ruza grudgingly agrees, but keeps a suspicious eye on Ana, who Ruza regards as inferior, and possibly uncivilized. But Ana is so full of spirit and energy that Ruza begins to respect and even admire her young employee and, despite their deep cultural differences, a bond of friendship develops.


But under Ana’s passionate zest for life is a dark and stunning secret, a secret that ultimately makes her a richer and deeper character. Culturally, there is much in this story that is Yugoslavian “inside baseball”, and most viewers will have difficulty fully appreciating the subtleties of Mila and Ana’s relationship at first, but director Andrea Staka does a fine job of filling in the blanks, and eventually we have a firm grasp of the complex view those from the former Yugoslavia have of themselves and each other.


Even comically frumpy Mila gets in on the act, as Ana inspires her to accept the fact that the homeland she knew is no more, and to begin looking forward instead of sulking over the past. But this is Marija Skaricic’s film, and her portrayal of Ana, a character whose generous, life-affirming spirit extends to everyone but herself, is a performance this reviewer won’t soon forget, and I hope we get more opportunities to see her on screen in the coming years.




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Fraulein (2006)

Set in damp, wintry Zurich, “Fraulein” is one of those small scale, grungy melodramas that seems tailor-made for the German language. A series of coincidences unite a successful cafeteria owner named Ruza (Murjana Karanovic) and her assistant Mila (Ljubica Jovic), both émigrés from the old Yugoslavia, with young Ana, a newly arrived and emotionally scarred Bosnian refugee (Marija Skaricic).


Ruza and Mila, now middle-aged, left Yugoslavia decades earlier, before the nation was ravaged by war. When homeless Ana shows up at the cafeteria seeking employment, Ruza grudgingly agrees, but keeps a suspicious eye on Ana, who Ruza regards as inferior, and possibly uncivilized. But Ana is so full of spirit and energy that Ruza begins to respect and even admire her young employee and, despite their deep cultural differences, a bond of friendship develops.


But under Ana’s passionate zest for life is a dark and stunning secret, a secret that ultimately makes her a richer and deeper character. Culturally, there is much in this story that is Yugoslavian “inside baseball”, and most viewers will have difficulty fully appreciating the subtleties of Mila and Ana’s relationship at first, but director Andrea Staka does a fine job of filling in the blanks, and eventually we have a firm grasp of the complex view those from the former Yugoslavia have of themselves and each other.


Even comically frumpy Mila gets in on the act, as Ana inspires her to accept the fact that the homeland she knew is no more, and to begin looking forward instead of sulking over the past. But this is Marija Skaricic’s film, and her portrayal of Ana, a character whose generous, life-affirming spirit extends to everyone but herself, is a performance this reviewer won’t soon forget, and I hope we get more opportunities to see her on screen in the coming years.




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Star Trek (2009)

This prequel of what Trekkies call “TOS” (the original series) is all flash and speed and action and doesn’t have an idea in its head. We see how the famous Enterprise crew met and through skill, bravery, and despite appalling personal shallowness, forged themselves into sci-fi icons. The catalyst for this nonsensical story is a sociopathic Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), owner of the most unfriendly looking spaceship you’ve ever seen, running around destroying planets by turning them into black holes.


He accomplishes this by… wait for it… drilling holes in them. But he’s actually from the future, and spoiling for a fight with the federation because Spock was unable to save his planet from destruction 120 years later. Confused yet? Newly minted Star Fleet Academy grad James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is pressed into service aboard the Enterprise which is the only functional starship in the vicinity; all the others are sitting in a cornfield undergoing maintenance. Apparently, starship construction will be something of a growth industry in the Iowa of the future, and it’s nice to know that one day good paying jobs will return to the American Midwest.


Kirk finds a young Spock (Zachary Quinto) firmly ensconced as first officer aboard the Enterprise. This Spock’s personality is a mix of logic and elite snootiness and he and Kirk have a long way to go if they are ever to be BFFs. It doesn’t help that they both have eyes for the same girl, the fetching young Uhuru (Zoe Saldana) who in this version was apparently a big hit at Academy frat parties. The movie gets sillier as it proceeds, and there are phaser battles and fistfights aplenty before Kirk and Spock discover an odd whirly-gig spaceship that may be human-kind’s only hope.


The acting here is actually quite serviceable, Quinto in particular, and there will no doubt be other movies featuring this young Enterprise ensemble saving the universe. They can start by saving us from these script writers.

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Star Trek (2009)

This prequel of what Trekkies call “TOS” (the original series) is all flash and speed and action and doesn’t have an idea in its head. We see how the famous Enterprise crew met and through skill, bravery, and despite appalling personal shallowness, forged themselves into sci-fi icons. The catalyst for this nonsensical story is a sociopathic Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), owner of the most unfriendly looking spaceship you’ve ever seen, running around destroying planets by turning them into black holes.


He accomplishes this by… wait for it… drilling holes in them. But he’s actually from the future, and spoiling for a fight with the federation because Spock was unable to save his planet from destruction 120 years later. Confused yet? Newly minted Star Fleet Academy grad James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is pressed into service aboard the Enterprise which is the only functional starship in the vicinity; all the others are sitting in a cornfield undergoing maintenance. Apparently, starship construction will be something of a growth industry in the Iowa of the future, and it’s nice to know that one day good paying jobs will return to the American Midwest.


Kirk finds a young Spock (Zachary Quinto) firmly ensconced as first officer aboard the Enterprise. This Spock’s personality is a mix of logic and elite snootiness and he and Kirk have a long way to go if they are ever to be BFFs. It doesn’t help that they both have eyes for the same girl, the fetching young Uhuru (Zoe Saldana) who in this version was apparently a big hit at Academy frat parties. The movie gets sillier as it proceeds, and there are phaser battles and fistfights aplenty before Kirk and Spock discover an odd whirly-gig spaceship that may be human-kind’s only hope.


The acting here is actually quite serviceable, Quinto in particular, and there will no doubt be other movies featuring this young Enterprise ensemble saving the universe. They can start by saving us from these script writers.

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Up in the Air (2009)

Here we have the typically quirky Indie Film template applied to grown-up subject matter, and the result is a movie that entertains but doesn’t involve. George Clooney stars as a freelance corporate grim reaper, a man who travels the breadth of this great nation canning middle management types with a highly professional style of faux sensitivity. Clooney relishes this life of airports, hotels and rental car kiosks, swiping his various elite status cards to break into long lines and rack up enormous frequent flier miles that he never intends to use.


He begins a liaison with a fellow road warrior, the sultry Vera Farmiga, and the two occasionally synchronize their schedules long enough to share a few witticisms in varying states of undress. The film’s best moments belong to a young business school hot shot (Anna Kendrick) whose newfangled ideas about firing people via teleconference threaten not only Clooney’s livelihood, but his beloved lifestyle of high flying solitude.


The movie seems to be most alive during Kendrick’s brief scenes, and it’s clear that director Jason Reitman is much more effective at creating 20-something characters than mature adults, as both Clooney and Farmiga seem quite bland in comparison. Clooney eventually has a slow burning epiphany sparked by his sister’s wedding and, due to some unconvincing sentimentality during a trip to Wisconsin, begins to question some of the underpinnings of his lonely existence.


But Reitman handles big revelations with the same too-cool-for-school ironic detachment that he handles everything else, and Clooney’s moment of insight seems more like a blind alley than a turning point. In fact, while the film works as a source of pleasant entertainment, it’s difficult to surmise exactly what Reitman is trying to say with the whole enterprise. The film has garnered praise and award nominations aplenty, but if this is what passes for the Great American Film these days, it’s not just our economy that’s in the crapper.

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