“An Education” bears to be yet another film about a young girl’s restlessness in the tedium of life and how one day some dashing man comes and swoops her off of her feet.

This is not a story unheard of.

Jenny, as played cunningly by Carey Mulligan, is a schoolgirl who dreams of being in Paris. She wants to wear black and smoke and read, all of this after she gets through Oxford. She is a virgin, saving herself for her 17th birthday.

On one rainy day, Jenny finds herself waiting at the bus stop, her cello rested to the side. Through the rain and grey comes a shining sports car that stops before her. The dashing man leans out and offers her a ride, as a fellow music enthusiast. A creature of culture and class, David seduces Jenny into a world of dog races, cocktail dresses, and Pre-Raphaelite art auctions.

Consumed in the glamor of it all, Jenny makes some brash decisions. By the end of it all, the mood lighting is turned off and Jenny sees what she really has: a year spent in vain and Oxford nowhere in her near future.

This film fits right in with the likes of “Funny Face” (1957) and “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006). Although these films may not seem similar at first glance, they all contain the same connective tissue: a girl who becomes enveloped in a new world, Paris as a place of dreams, and a male love-interest. How this film stands out from all the rest is the execution. The film is aesthetically perfected, the cinematography and the costumes alone should reel in viewers. What this film truly succeeds in is its ability to show sharp contrast and deep visuals that complement the story. The life that Jenny leads is completely transformed the first night she goes out with David, and the viewer is shown the gravity of it because of the visuals.

If the plot isn’t what gets you first, the visuals will.

2.5/4 RATING

Now playing at the Michigan Theater, Located at 603 East Liberty Street.