Formative Performances: Carey Mulligan in “An Education”

[The following is a guest post from abovethetitle.]

The only things assured in life are death, taxes, and that I will miss a deadline. Not that this in any way reflects my adoration from my “coming of age” pick on the heels of Lady T’s write up for Anna Chlumsky. Au contraire. Carey Mulligan in “An Education” is one of my very favorite turns from the present century and the film is perhaps my very favorite of that subgenre. Mulligan’s star-making turn showed us all what it’s like to feel trapped by society and/or parental expectations and the very scary reality that our mistakes can define us. A minor spoiler alert ahead so reader beware:

A lot has been made of the somewhat tacked on ending for the film, which I do agree is somewhat at odds with the rest of the film stylistically, but it’s just that Mulligan’s Jenny was so inherently lovable that I so desperately wanted life to work out for her.