Mad Men style ... on the other side of the Atlantic

This afternoon my friend Liana and I treated ourselves to an afternoon at the Cinema with popcorn and chocolate and an interesting new flick. After drooling over Carey Mulligan on the red-carpet, I finally got to see her star-making turn in An Education. It is the story of an intelligent 16-year-old schoolgirl, full of life but stifled by her sheltered middle class upbringing, who in her final year at school, is seduced by a much older man. This man - played to smarmy perfection by Peter Sarsgaard - manages to seduce her parents as well, and takes her to concerts, jazz clubs, auction houses, swish restaurants, and even Paris. Of course, he isn't all that he seems, and the young protagonist is soon getting an education in more than just art and sex. Set in London in 1961, the fashions are to-die-for - I particularly loved her Paris dress, with a print like a Monet painting, and her red and white party frock - and Mulligan is truly mesmerising. She is apparently generating lots of awards buzz, and it isn't hard to see why.

I think this is a good film, rather than a great film, but it should be on the must-see list for fans of sixties fashion and interiors. This film looks, quite simply, gorgeous. And the performances are first class.