An Education: 1960's London fashion on film.

During the Golden Globes last night, I was reminded of the great little coming-of-age film An Education, which I saw at the theatre several months ago (it had a very limited release). Based on the memoirs of British journalist Lynn Barber, the movie is about Jenny (Golden Globe nominee Carey Mulligan), a London schoolgirl who falls in love with an older man. Although the story sounds like a page from Nabakov's Lolita and the title may conjure up the Natalie Portman film The Professional, I was taken aback at how surprisingly honest and sensual the film was.

Mulligan as Jenny.

The characters, even the smaller roles, were believable. The film did a great job with casting a good ensemble: Peter Sarsgaard, who plays David and steals little Jenny's heart, may be best remembered in Garden State as Mark, the insensitive but hilarious friend; Alfred Molina plays Jenny's father and was the Bishop in The Da Vinci Code; Rosemary Cross, who plays a schoolteacher, played the female lead in 1998's Rushmore (which, if you're from Texas, was filmed in Houston by UT alum Wes Anderson); and Emma Thompson plays the headmistress.

I really could go on and on about the cast alone.

Basically, the movie is fantastic to watch because of its cast.

Set in 1961 (before the Beatles had Ringo Starr on drums), the film demonstrates the difference in its characters--both economical and maturation--with clothing. Jenny, as a school girl, is dressed plainly, with her hair simple.

On her first date with David, she meets David's friends, Danny and Helen (Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike, respectively). Jenny is intrigued by Helen, and literally pets Helen's fur shawl. Helen invites her shopping, which Jenny declines due to money, only to find out that David will take her shopping.

Talk about wardrobe upgrade for the remaining duration! The rest of the film takes us through Jenny's departure from childhood, emotionally and fashionably.

Almost makes me want to find a sugar daddy. Almost. If you have not seen the film, enjoy these stills until its DVD release, courtesy of Yahoo.

You can view the trailer of An Education and learn about the awards Mulligan, who is reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn, has won for her role here (don't bother reading the synopsis, though; it might as well be called "major spoiler"). Special thanks to Sony Pictures Classics and BBC Films.