“An Education,” 10 July 2010 (2009), DVD. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a 16-yo precociously sophisticated and adept English school girl preparing for her A-levels. She’s from an uptight, climbing, conventional lower middle class family in an early ‘60s London suburb, when she and her family (including a marvelous turn by Alfred Molina as her foolish but loving father) are charmed by a much older, shady ner-do-well (Peter Sarsgaard). Pedophile or simply immature playboy, he seduces her with clubs, jazz, sophisticated dinners, auctions, art, and Paris. She is smart, but not smart enough. Emma Thompson as the priggish and anti-Semitic headmistress and Olivia Williams as the loving English teacher. A fine, funny, cruel, painful script from Nick Hornby and excellent direction from Lone Sherfig (Italian for Beginners, which we loved) really helps make this work. Had this been a US TV production, it would have been a self-righteous “Law and Order” morality play. It’s not, and that tension keeps this meaningful.