Gullible 16

Stepping stones, experiences, foot-holding through the adult world yet not quite there, a brash with petty criminals. And then there is the school education, preparation for university and rebelling against boring conventions.

An Education, a British film made in 2009 is a beautifully made production that is original in the presentation of the self, multitudes of thinking behavior, and of how characters behave under different circumstances, moving from the cautious and optimistic to the gullible, and the willingness to seek out change for a better tomorrow.

Hence through the characters relationships are explored, conventions are questioned, excitement of the bright life is clearly sought after and the move from the monotonous is craved for.

The film is set in London in the early 1960s and revolves around a 16-year-old preparing exams to enter Oxford University at a critical juncture because of the older boy friend she meets who dazzles her and her parents into an imaginary upbeat life where all can be had.

His shady deals are recognized earlier in the film, we don't clearly know what they really are except for a "bit of this, a bit of that". Yet they tickle the fancy of the 16-year-old beauty who is already into listening to French songs, but likes classical music and literature. At the same time however, she is a bit of a rebel against school rules and studying despite the fact she is an A student.

Through her Jewish boyfriend--don't really know why he should be so, and his friends--she is introduced to concert halls, expensive dinners, the races and much more, and a glittering life despite the fact there is very little in common between them. Seduction draws her away from taking her exams, standing against the rules in favor of a promised marriage that ends in a climatic form when she accidentally finds out her man has already a wife.

An Education is one of those films you enjoy listening to its soundtrack music and song. The dialogue shows ferocity against existing values, and the change that is yet to come underpinned by a yearning among the youth for a different kind of living and culture.

It is based on a true-life story and that's what makes it especially good because the stages, the life, the characters, the theme of the story is already set. All is left is for the cinematography to take over.