an education

I don't think 2009 was a good year for films,at all.Many of last year's work offer entertainment and quality of some sort but I honestly don't see any major contribution to cinema.Oscar nominations will be out later today,and come March 7 I have no doubt it'll be the same big names winning.

If I had to pick anything I truly liked from last year,I'd say that The Informant! was good and Matt Damon was beyond hilarious.Meryl Streep showed a diverse range on It's Complicated.Sandra Bullock,who is such a natural and gifted comedian,was stiff in The Blind Side,which very much like Precious,was forced with cheap sentiments.Avatar's effects pioneered something truly amazing,but its writing and storytelling were terrifically poor,anything more than technical awards would be redundant.I couldn't finish watching Hurt Locker,it was just too slow and lifeless.Julia & Julia was good,minus all of Amy Adams' parts.Up in The Air was a bit flat,but anything that gives Jason Bateman a job is fine by me.

But on top of all that criticism.I saw An Education this recent weekend,a film written by Nick Hornby and starring Carrey Mulligan,who was nominated for a Golden Globe but lost out to Sandra Bullock.The writing and story I didn't like too much,the character was far to gullible and idealistic even when she was meant to be smart and far-sighted.And set in the 60's,all the men and women were dressed to look poised and charming although there was none of that in the supporting cast.The father's character was stern and strict one minute,then stupid and loose the other.Peter Sarsgaard's character 'David' seemed very suspicious from the start,even when he was written to be witty and gentle,I just thought he was a complete pedophile from the get go.And the final scenes of the film end on a string of disappointing cliches.

But Carrey Mulligan is just luminous.I'd watch this film again and again just to see her,there is some incredible joy in her performance that beats out all the crap from last year.She might not win an Oscar,the academy oft to favor old-timers like Meryl Streep or Sandra Bullock,however mediocre their entries might've been,but Carrey Mulligan was no doubt the best thing about cinema in 2009.

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