[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn9IMe5jmf0&w=640&h=390]We watched “An Education” last nightand for the first time in living memory I found myself watching a movie with no preconceived ideas of what it might be about, who was in it, or if it might be any good or not. Let’s just say I’m still thinking about it this morning, which probably tells you more than a paragraph or two of introverted third-hand movie reviewWithout spoiling the plot too much, here’s an excerpt;Headmistress: Nobody does anything worth doing without a degree.
Jenny: Nobody does anything worth doing WITH a degree. No woman anyway.
Headmistress: So what I do isn’t worth doing? Or what Miss Stubbs does, or Mrs. Wilson, or any of us here? Because none of us would be here without a degree. You do realize that, don’t you? And yes, of course studying is hard and boringJenny: Boring!Headmistress: I’m sorry?Jenny: Studying is hard and boring. Teaching is hard and boring. So, what you’re telling me is to be bored, and then bored, and finally bored again, but this time for the rest of my life? This whole stupid country is bored! There’s no life in it, or color, or fun! It’s probably just as well the Russians are going to drop a nuclear bomb on us any day now. So my choice is to do something hard and boring, or to marry my Jew, and go to Paris and Rome and listen to jazz, and read, and eat good food in nice restaurants, and have fun! It’s not enough to educate us anymore Ms. Walters. You’ve got to tell us why you’re doing it.
The movie goes full circle on the theme of “education”. Jenny learns the hard way that there is no shortcut in life (and admits as much later in the movie). It reminded me of being young again thoughof being inward looking, selfish, blindly optimistic, hedonistic evenWonderful movie.