Details
Movie Description
Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) is an alcoholic professor of literature headed for dire straits. Rita is a frustrated young housewife filled with wanderlust. When the two meet as student and teacher, no lecture hall can contain their attraction for one another. As Rita engages her teacher in a fuzzy romance, she matures and discovers a new side of herself, but in the end she must choose either her marriage or the magnetic Dr. Bryant.
EDUCATING RITA reunites director Lewis Gilbert with star Michael Caine--they previously worked together in the 1966 drama ALFIE--and once again their collaboration is staggering. Bryant's shortcomings as a drunk and a womanizer are detestable, yet still Gilbert allows viewers to empathize with his character. In EDUCATING RITA, Gilbert once again demonstrates that he is not only a master of commanding the camera but a master at deconstructing the human heart as well.
Synopsis
In a determined effort to escape her working class background, a young hairdresser hires a tutor to instruct her in the classics. She ends up giving her disillusioned, oft- inebriated professor a lesson in making the most of life. The film is a charming PYGMALION-like comedy.
Film Notes
Director Lewis Gilbert teamed up with playwright Willy Russell again in 1989's SHIRLEY VALENTINE.
The film was originally rated R by the MPAA, but received a PG rating on appeal.
Industry Reviews
"...An irresistible story....RITA is one of those memorable screen personas that seem to be lacking nowadays...Julie Walters injects her with just the right mix of comedy and pathos..."
Variety - Berg. (05/04/1983)
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