Director: Lewis Gilbert
Writer: Willy Russell (Screenplay) Willy Russell (Stage Play)
Starring: Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman, Jeananne Crowley, Malcolm Douglas
Plot: An alcoholic professor has been hired by a working-class girl for higher education.
Tagline – A comedy about a teacher and a very memorable student
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Educating Rita starts when hairdresser Susan who prefers to be called Rita (Walters) takes up an open university course with Dr Frank Bryant (Caine) who isn’t used to working with the working-class students, used to dealing with the young and ambitious.
As Frank is dealing with his own alcohol addiction, he starts to find hope in seeing Rita desire to learn, seeing her breaking from traditions her husband wants her to follow.
Thoughts on Educating Rita
Characters & Performances – Dr Frank Bryant is an alcoholic professor of English that is getting tired of teaching the students, he has lost his inspiration to write his own work and in his person life, things don’t seem to be going well, once he starts helping Rita, he starts finding a new love for teaching, a new high that is more dangerous than he thought. Michael Caine is brilliant in this role, showing the teaching side with the tortured soul side with ease. Rita is a hairdresser that wants to find more in her life, she turns to education in hopes of this, despite her husband looking to stop her chasing her dreams of a better future, she finds herself moving away from the Rita nickname, taking back her own name of Susan, where she will finally get to chase her dreams. Julie Walters is brilliant as the common working class woman who wants more, this feels like one of the most natural performances you will ever see.
Story – The story here follows an alcoholic professor that takes on an open university student who is desperate to find new inspiration from her life instead of just getting married and having a family, where the two end up helping each other discover more about life. This is a story that will look to break and end the traditions which have become outdated, where we get to see how someone can give time to someone to improve them, even if people in their lives can hold them back. It also gets the message across that only you can drive the change in your own life, no matter how much time it takes to make it happened. While certain parts of what could happen have changed, it is still one that will give hope to everyone who has ever dreamed of more.
Themes – Educating Rita is a comedy drama that will show the different lifestyles Rita and John live, showing us just how much can change when extra effort is put in. We see just how trapped Rita is with her married life, that looks like it is going nowhere. The comedy is more from how Rita looks up at the stuck up mentality of the education system.
Educating Rita is a delightful film that will give inspiration, with two of the best performances from Caine and Walters.