Overview
A young woman's life takes an unexpected turn as she navigates love and ambition in a changing world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- wistful
- sophisticated
- reflective evening
- period drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as a charming and sharply observed coming-of-age drama elevated by Carey Mulligan's standout performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jenny's encounters with David and his sophisticated social circle expose her to adult pleasures, ethical compromises, and consequences beyond her sheltered school life.
Jack Mellor organizes Jenny's life around Oxford admission and a better future, creating pressure that competes with her new desires.
David's apparent wealth and access to concerts, restaurants, and travel offer Jenny an intoxicating alternative to her middle-class suburban upbringing.
The London suburb, cultural venues, and fashionable interiors are presented with elegant period design while Jenny's growing doubts complicate their glamour.
Films like An Education, and why
Brooklyn
Shares a witty, bittersweet coming-of-age drama about a young woman navigating romance, social expectation, and self-discovery in a tightly controlled period setting.
The End of the Affair
Shares a sophisticated period romance centered on class mobility, emotional education, and a young woman's struggle to define her future.
The Last Picture Show
Shares a coming-of-age drama in which an inexperienced young protagonist is shaped by an alluring but morally complicated older figure.
Bright Star
Shares a British period coming-of-age sensibility, restrained romance, and conflict between personal desire and conventional expectations.
Movie Details
- Director
- Lone Scherfig
- Release Date
- 2009-10-29
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (1469)
Cast
- Carey Mulligan
- Peter Sarsgaard
- Dominic Cooper
- Rosamund Pike
- Olivia Williams
- Alfred Molina
- Cara Seymour
- Sally Hawkins
- Emma Thompson
- James Norton
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is An Education about?
- A bright London schoolgirl’s carefully planned path to Oxford is unsettled by an older man who opens the door to glamour, romance, and troubling moral compromises.
- What is An Education like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of An Education as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is An Education violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in An Education.
- What did critics think of An Education?
- Critics broadly regard it as a charming and sharply observed coming-of-age drama elevated by Carey Mulligan's standout performance.
- Which films are like An Education?
- Films with a similar feel include Brooklyn, The End of the Affair, The Last Picture Show, and Bright Star.
- How long is An Education?
- An Education runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch An Education?
- In United States, An Education is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
