By Andrew K. of Encore's World of Film & TV.
I had ranted a few weeks ago about my disinterest in the Oscar race, I had – so to speak – signed off from the hullabaloo. I’m still signed off, I refuse to waste (hypothetical) ink on the clamour at the moment; but the recent nominations did give me at least one reason to smile when I saw that the little British film An Education had earned 3 Oscar nominations – among them a nod for Best Picture; it is a mere pittance I suppose when put in perspective but it could have been worse. Last year I – along with the majority of the blogoshpere – expressed disgust at the Academy’s move to ten Picture nominees. I’m still not overly fond of the idea, but I realise that were it not for the new rules An Education would not be featured here. Try as I might to search my brains I can’t recall any similar films that have gotten the honour. If we want to go the British route we could tout Atonement but Atonement’s lineage is more along the lines of Merchant Ivory’s literary excursions of the nineties. An Education is British and an adapted screenplay, but definitely not a literary piece in the vein of those.
The last youthful film in the line-up was Juno, I’ll reserve my opinion of that but it’s nomination and general success could be attributed more to American fanaticism and fervour than any scholastic similarities between the two. We could probably travel all the way back to 1989 and pick up Dead Poets’ Society – but I’m doubtful of the similarities, even if they both concern that dubious task education of our youths. But cultural implications aside, An Education does bear some resemblance to Juno. Both films were thrust into the Best Picture race because of their (young) leading actresses – Ellen Page and Carey Mulligan. It’s nothing new – we could argue that Erin Brockovich perhaps even Secrets and Lies both turned into Best Picture nominees because of their leading women and ostensibly that is true for An Education – which like fellow Picture Nominee [gah] The Blind Side seems to be picking up major buzz for its Actress only. Still, despite whatever the misguided Awards ceremonies imply, it’s more than just a film about a girl and Carey – as resplendent as she is – does not run the gamut of this film’s appeal.
I’ve waxed on and on about my appreciation of this film. I won’t deny, I’m quite elated at its nomination – but I also won’t deny that it has a snowball’s chance in hell winning this, and perhaps any category. The odds are stacked against this British indie of sorts, which is unfortunate. It seems that awards have eyes for five films – Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Inglourious Basterds and Up In the Air or [Up in the Avatar 's Inglourious Precious Locker]. You’d think that Hornby would be a threat for screenplay, but it’s not looking too likely and though in a perfect world Carey Mulligan would at least be a serious contender she’s been Blind Sided by that Bullock lady, but that’s a whole other story.
No matter how we say that we don’t care what the Oscars say we can’t help the inadvertent belief that they’re the authority on film, so it’s a bit unfortunate when supporting players like Molina and the dazzling Rosamund Pike go unnoticed, or John De Borman’s cinematography and Paul Englishby’s original songs for Duffy and Beth Rowley and Odile Dicks-Mireaux costumes and of course Scherfig’s direction. An Education will not be winning the Oscar for Best Picture, and the gravity of a nomination has become diluted in the face of the switch from five to ten. Nevertheless, the goodness of An Education is not reduced by the company it’s keeping.
The usual thing to do when assessing Oscar nominations for the top category is to consider their chances of winning, but in the case of An Education and so many more the chance is nil, so spending time lamenting on the impossible is ridiculous. Instead, I’d simply like to offer it up as one of the better films of the last year. It is a well produced, delicately directed and superbly acted drama. And it is an Oscar nominee for Best Picture, it is what is, and it deserves the honour.
AN EDUCATION: 3 Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Adapted Screenplay (Nick Hornby)
Best Actress (Carey Mulligan)
