An Education

"You sound very old and wise,"
"I feel very old, but not very wise."

Best line of any movie. ever.
This movie really disappointed me too. First of all, I thought it was going to be a lot more dramatic, it seemed like it was trying to be serious, but it never quite got there. Even the intro montage was just so light-hearted, I couldn't take it seriously, or as seriously as the subject matter deserved to be taken. Even all her reactions to the situations she was in were very shallow, immature and half-thought out. Very true to someone her age, but it made the movie less. Thievery, breaking up a marriage, dropping out of school, loosing your virginity, it was all very flippantly handled. I would have liked to see her a little more upset for a little longer, it would have made it seem real. Real-er... more authentic.
Over all I totally loved all the different characters, they were all very well defined and portrayed, probably my favorite was Helen. She by far was the most complex, I feel. I mean, she was defiantly not very clever, but her story was probably just as interesting as Jenny's. Think about it, she was probably in a similar situation, but she chose to stay in the game with the boys, preferring to go along with their games, help them, but stay aloof. Ignorance is bliss, in her case. There's a certain honor in knowing the difference, but choosing the lesser in order to make yourself happy. If that makes sense... The costumes were also gorgeous and fabulous and the entire bit in Paris was to die for. The directing, cinematography, casting and acting were all amazing, the dialogue and plot were lacking.