Film studies:
In An Education it is 1961 in London. We meet a sixteen year old girl who plays the cello called Jenny. After one of her practice sessions it starts raining and she is standing at the bus stop getting rained on. A fancy looking car soon pulls up next to her and the car’s window rolls down. The driver introduces himself. His name is David and claims to share a mutual attraction towards the cello with Jenny. He proceeds to offer Jenny’s cello a ride and claims to be of the notion that Jenny would probably not agree to riding in the same car with a total stranger. David drives the car at a very slow pace and Jenny walks besides the car as they chat. The rain finally overwhelms Jenny and when she cannot take it anymore she finally asks David to let her get into the car which he does swiftly and without any hesitation whatsoever. He drives to Jenny’s home and drops her off then he leaves.
This scene is very relevant to the overall narrative of the film because it introduces the audience to the main characters and also sheds light on the characters’ general persona. The audience gets to see how David is cool, calm and relaxed in all his endeavors, a trait he portrays throughout the film. He is also very cunning and good at spotting a person’s interests then using those interests to his advantage as he did with Jenny’s cello claiming that he was also a fellow cello lover only to get Jenny into his car. Light is also shed on Jenny’s general character. Talking her into something is apparently not that hard as David did not have to struggle much to get her into his car and throughout the movie he manages on numerous occasions to talk her into doing things with minimal persuasive effort. David is also brought out as a very cunning smooth operator who can talk people into doing things with a very conservative and seemingly innocent approach, The scene also sheds light on the culture of London back in 1961. Apparently back then the concept of a man in his mid-thirties courting a teenager was not frowned upon as David approaches Jenny without any fear of public ridicule and criticism whatsoever. This scene sets the pace of the rest of the film and introduces the audience to the world of the main characters and also gives the audience a sneak peek into who the characters really are and their various modes of operation. It also gives the audience a general idea of what the rest of the film might be about and what might transpire in the upcoming scene. It also creates suspense within the audience as it leaves the audience pondering on whether Jenny would ever meet David again and if she did what would be the outcome of their encounter. This scene single handedly creates so much tension and speculation within the audience that one can barely wait to see what transpires in the rest of the film,
The mise en scene employed in this scene is very significant to the general storyline and to the theme of the film. Jenny is wearing a brown coat and a white shirt. Her dressing alludes to a young girl raised in a conservative background with parents very strict on issues of morality. David is dressed in a grey trench coat with a suit and tie underneath. This alludes to a financially successful and stable man and also hints at him being responsible and well-organized in everything that he does. It also sheds light into his character of how he likes to present himself to the public. He shows up in a red sports car which is quite easy to spot from a distance and would only go unnoticed by a blind man. This might allude to him being an attention seeker and is also a sign of just how financially well off he is. He might also be a show off who wants everyone around him to know just how well off he is. The color red is known to stimulate spontaneous emotional reactions so maybe David is cunning and well thought out genius who knew that the color of the car would subconsciously trigger a wave of emotions in Jenny that would greatly aid his cause of impressing her. The buildings in the background and the road also tell a great deal about architectural methods employed in London way back in the 1960s and the level of sophistication of the English civilization as far back as the 60s. This scene is set up to portray the perfect situation of two complete strangers with seemingly similar preferences coincidentally meeting and being forced by circumstances, in this case the weather, to spend some time with each other and leave room for them to perhaps meet at a later date and also leave room for the potential growth of their relationship but it can also be argued as a scene involving a very mature man taking advantage of a young girl’s age and her current predicament to make a move on her.
The cinematography in this scene is very impressive and leaves film analysts begging for more and with little room for criticism. The lighting in this scene is perfect to say the least. The lights are perfectly focused an all key interest areas and help provide a very clear and vivid picture of London in 1961. Camerawork prowess and expertise is also on a showcase in this scene. The cameras focus in the right places at exactly the right time and the transition from one camera to another is so systematic and perfectly timed that it almost seems natural and is also almost unnoticeable. The cameras focus perfectly on Jenny’s face and enable the audience to read her facial expression and predict her general mood and demeanor. The focus on David’s car is also perfect and tells the audience just how luxurious and expensive the car actually is. Focus on the background also gives the audience a clear understanding of the time period of the setting of the scene. The editing of this scene is also flawless and it perfectly creates the illusion of a continuous process as opposed to bits of work put together. The editing of this scene is a perfect example of how bits and pieces of work can be cleverly put together to the extent that they go completely unnoticed by the audience which is left believing that that was a single continuous piece of work.
The sound in this scene is very clear and precise. The audience is able to clearly hear and distinguish what the characters are saying from other background noises with absolutely no overlapping or clashing of the two. The background noises are also very clear but completely distinguishable from the character’s words. This scene has a deeper meaning than just a middle aged man picking up a teenager under the guise of sharing similar interests with her in this case her love for playing the cello. It sheds light on the courting practices in London in the 1960s and gives the audience the opportunity to link the title of the film with the happenings of the film. The audience can clearly tell that Jenny is in for an education but not the kind acquired in school but the kind taught by experience and the cruel world. This scene alone tells enables the audience to clearly foretell the kind of lessons Jenny is going to learn from her encounter with David and how these lessons would affect her for the rest of her life. Style also contributes to a deeper meaning of the scene in line with the entire film in general. The sound patterns of David enable the audience to gauge his sincerity and see right through him into his real intentions. They portray a man not just interested in innocently offering a young girl a ride home when she really needs it but a more sinister plot in the making. The audience can clearly see that David is taking advantage of jenny’s situation and her tender age which renders her inexperienced in dealing with men like him. His sense of confidence is also brought out by the way he talks and conducts himself in general, Jenny’s patterns also portray a naïve girl that is easily talked into doing things and this is later shown as the film progresses. Convincing her to do something apparently does not require that much effort and this makes her easy pickings for David and the perfect candidate for his lesson. Her patters also bring her out as a young and energetic girl with a lot of hope for the future, her whole life is ahead of her and she intends to take it head on and enjoy herself while at it. Though naïve she talks with this confidence and a hint of determination which clearly enlightens the audience on her perception of what the future holds for her and what she has going at the present.
