Showing:
BBC TWO, Sunday August 5, 9pm
Synopsis:
(1983) Rita is a young working-class woman with a burning desire for education. Enrolling on an Open University literature course, she is taken under the reluctant wing of a semi-alcoholic English professor, Frank.
Read the full synopsis on BFI Screenonline.
Cast:
- Michael Caine (Dr. Frank Bryant)
- Julie Walters ('Rita', Susan)
- Michael Williams (Brian)
- Maureen Lipman (Trish)
- Jeananne Crowley (Julia)
Full cast and credits on BFI Screenonline.
Analysis:
Though its most obvious debt is to Shaw's Pygmalion, Educating Rita has much of the wit and grit of the British New Wave dramas of two decades earlier. But Willy Russell's script, from his own stage play (also starring Julie Walters), combines hard-edged social realism with a lightly-worn, spirited humour.
This is a comedy of contrasts, immediately juxtaposing the appearance of the sparky young hairdresser with that of her middle-aged tutor. Walters' Rita sports a peroxide-blonde hairdo with pink highlights and wears an array of bright outfits; Michael Caine, who bulked out and grew unkempt curls to play Frank, is dressed throughout in drab, faded shades.
Read the full analysis on BFI Screenonline.
Review:
I watched this movie after a long time. I really enjoyed and related to a lot of the characters. The themes and relationships as portrayed by Walters and Caine are deep rooted in real issues of social class and education. A real timeless gem of a movie.
Dee S
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