Now that An Education is finally hitting theaters this Friday, I’m curious to see if there’s going to be any kind of “ick factor” amongst audiences and Oscar voters (particularly older ones) over the film’s basic plot: a 16-year-old schoolgirl who falls for a man in his early 30s and decides to lose her virginity to him on her 17th birthday. The subject matter is handled with great sensitivity by director Lone Scherfig and screenwriter Nick Hornby, but that’s never stopped some people from getting all up in arms. It’s particularly interesting in light of Roman Polanski’s recent arrest—though it goes without saying that the cases, while both involving adult men and underage girls, are vastly different. In Part 2 of our OscarWatch interview (watch Part 1 here), Carey Mulligan and I discuss her impressive Education costars Emma Thompson and Sally Hawkins and the surprising reactions she’s gotten from fathers after they’ve seen the movie.
(On a side note: I conducted this interview last month in Toronto. After I got back, I saw Jack Rosenthal’s Sept. 25 “On Language” column in the New York Times Magazine, in which he discusses a handful of words that many people use incorrectly, one of which is enormity. Most people, including me, think it means “enormousness,” when in fact it means “great wickedness.” So now of course I feel like an idiot for showing my ignorance in this video. I’ll never make that mistake again!)
UPDATE: According to several commenters, enormity does also mean enormousness. So stuff it, New York Times!
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Isn’t age of consent in the UK 16 anyway?
nauseous was not on the NYTimes list but it should be. Does it mean nauseated or nausea-inducing? I don’t even know anymore.
Heh. This one gets me too. Nauseous means “sickening.” If you feel sick, you’re “nauseated.” You can be nauseated by something nauseous, essentially.
God, I am so tired of hearing about Roman Polanski. And if people are too stupid to realise the difference between fiction and reality in any aspect, then that’s their problem. As a woman in my twenties, I still find fictional stories containing age disparity quite interesting — and I was also intrigued by them while I was a teenager. (Call it wish fulfillment or just an appreciation for great storytelling. Either one qualifies.)
I may not see this film in the theatre, but I’m definitely grabbing it once it hits DVD. (And, as a Doctor Who geek, I can’t help but mention: Sally Sparrow!)
I think most reasonable people get the difference between fiction and reality. The problem is that with half of Hollywood cheering for a child rapist there are going to be people who will say that this film is part of Hollywood’s support of him (or at least support for his way of thinking). Other people will simply have no taste for the subject matter given current events.
It’s good that Carey is actually much older than her character b/c at least the reality behind the film is not disgusting. If they had gotten Dakota Fanning (who is actually 15) to play her, that would have raised alot of eyebrows.
Exactly, which is why when she was in Hounddog, it was disturbing on many many levels.
There’s a couple of differences between this movie and Roman Polanksi’s situation. RP raped and ass-raped a woman. This movie, she falls for the guy. So it may be an older man and jailbait, but it’s not quite the same. If anything, this should be compared to Lolita.
Lolita was also underage. It sounds like the girl in this movie is going to be at or over the age of consent.
Lolita was also underage. It sounds like from the other comments that the girl is going to be of the age of consent. It may still be creepy given the age difference and that she’s still a teen but it won’t be illegal.
(This comment system hates me)
A few other differences. Polanski drugged his victim, while from what I understand, the character in the movie makes a decision to lose her virginity. Also, the movie is fictional. Polanski and his victim are very real.
Even decades ago, the heterosexual age of consent in the UK (where, obviously, the film is set) was 16. Lynn Barber’s showbiz interviews (it’s her life story) are well worth reading – check out Demon Barber on amazon etc
You’re off the hook with the usage of “enormity.” Merriam Webster lists four definitions for the word, and the meaning of enormousness is there. It’s all the way at the bottom, but it’s there. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enormity
Um, Dave, in addition to wicked, evil etc., it also can mean huge. Check it out. Thank you. Edit your article.
Was there an “ick factor” when Notes From A Scandal came out a few years ago? That is the movie where Cate Blanchett’s teacher character was having an affair with a young male student.
Yes, or at the very least someone at EW did write about how damaging that kind of relationship can be.
According to dictionary.com, enormity means both things:
e⋅nor⋅mi⋅ty
/ɪˈnɔrmɪti/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [i-nawr-mi-tee] Show IPA
Use enormity in a Sentence
See web results for enormity
See images of enormity
–noun, plural -ties
1. outrageous or heinous character; atrociousness: the enormity of war crimes.
2. something outrageous or heinous, as an offense: The bombing of the defenseless population was an enormity beyond belief.
3. greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.
16 is both the legal age for marriage and
intercourse in the UK and therefore does not carry the same connotations as it might in Canada or the States.
It is based on the true life story of Lyn Barber.
Btw-Enormity has only come to mean great size wowing to its continued misuse stemming from its inherent meaning of “greatly offensive nature”.
I’m also tired of hearing that “half of Hollywood is cheering for Roman Polanski”. Really? Because most of the people who signed that letter aren’t Hollywood people, and the people I know who work in the industry pretty much think his actions were disgusting.
“An Education” is a terrific movie,BTW.
:O
IN careful usage– such as that employed by, say, a professional writer– enormity is defined as mere outrageousness, and the enormousness-substitute meaning is to be strenuously avoided.