http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1174732/

This is an interesting film to review. I am sure it will divide a few for it's subject matter. I know many people who think the idea of watching a film about the romance between a 16 year old girl and a man who is over 30 is disgusting. I did not find it disgusting in the slightest, in fact I found it rather touching. First of all I want to praise Carey Mulligan, she was fantastic. One of the best performances of an actress her age next to Evan rachel wood in Whatever works, and Abbie Cornish in Bright Star. I thought the age of consent in England was 16. I can understand why people would find this film gross, but they are really missing the point. The main character Jenny is very grown up for her age, she is clearly smart and mature enough to have a relationship. She may be smart, but she is easily seduced by David, who is played by the wonderful Peter Sarsgaard. He shows her a world of art, culture, music, and love. She falls for him pretty much instantly, and their romance is very convincing and well done.Her parents seem almost weirdly fine with her romance, well he persuades them of course but it doesn't take long for them to fall under his spell too. He tricks them with visions of Oxford, which Jenny's parents want her to go to, and lots of money.

This film brings up an important question, can you really love when you are young? The film brings up more questions, but this is the main one. Sure there is an age of consent, but when are we really ready for love, and sex? Jenny is mature and grown up enough to know what she wants, and her journey with David makes the film's ending that much more tragic. This film could have easily been done in a cheesy way, but everything about it works well. The only bad thing is the ending, which is very anticlimactic. This is a film about growing up overall, and when we are ready to be responcible for ourselves We all make bad choices, but when do we know when we are really ready for love? There is no age where you instantly become mature, heck I have met a few 16 year olds who are more mature than some 18 year olds. Whether Jenny made the right choice in the end is not the point of the film. Through her experiences she has learned what it is like to grow up, albeit in a very sudden way. Her experiences will stay with her though and in the end maybe it was good that she went through them insread of focusing on school. Are we really defined by how well we do in school? Is it knowledge or wisdom that is most important? Schools cant teach wisdom, and though Jenny goes through more than most girls her age she gains wisdom and life experience. That is what this film is about, discovering life, and gaining wisdom. Some of the smartest people I know are also the dumbest in some ways. There are many different kinds of education, most are not learned in a class. This film may stand out because of how unconvential the love story is at first, but once you get used to it the film doesn't stand out as much. In the end it is a very pleasant and ultimatley tragic love story. I still highly recommend it though, there are few things better than a nice love story.

Overall I give it a 8.5 out of 10.