Movies: Get Yourself 'An Education'

Nathaniel Rogers would live inside a movie theater but for the poor internet reception. He blogs daily at the Film Experience.

YOUR FEATURE PRESENTATION

Have you ever seen a star being born? It’s a particularly thrilling film experience and contrary to popular conceptions of celebrity – from Warhol’s 15 minutes meme to the enduring reality TV craze -- true star breakthroughs don’t happen every year. They’re rare like comets or maybe even eclipses. You have a chance to see one this month as AN EDUCATION begins its platforming release and Carey Mulligan deservedly rises to the top of Hollywood’s “must cast” list. In the fall’s first obvious Oscar contender (expect a Best Picture nod) Mulligan plays Jenny, a 16 year old girl who is wise beyond her years… though not quite as wise as she thinks she is.

Jenny takes up with a much older man David (Peter Sarsgaard) who gives her, you guessed it, an education… but not only a sexual one. Then there’s the not so small matter of Jenny’s schooling. She’s aiming for Oxford, egged on by her higher learning obsessed father (Alfred Molina).

But why is Dominic Cooper holding an armadillo?