Themes: Teachers and Students, Mentors, Battle of the Sexes
Main Cast: Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman, Jeananne Crowley
Release Year: 1983
Country: UK
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
A trio of Oscar nominations and a pair of Golden Globes went to this acclaimed romantic comedy-drama based on the play by Willy Russell. Julie Walters stars as Rita, a witty, 26-year-old working class British hairdresser who decides to seek an education at Open University. Rita needs a tutor, and she selects Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine), an alcoholic college literature professor whose life is a shambles. Divorced, Bryant's new lover is now having an affair with his best friend and he's increasingly depressed, seeking solace in whisky. Bryant's domestic turmoil is mirrored by Rita's, as she has opted for college over motherhood, a source of friction between her and her husband. As Rita blooms intellectually under the tutelage of Bryant, she realizes that what she really lacks is self-confidence, not education, and a gentle romance blossoms between her and Bryant. At home, however, Rita's newfound self-respect and intelligence cause her even greater pain. Director Lewis Gilbert and writer Russell teamed again six years later on the similarly-themed Shirley Valentine (1989). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Malcolm Douglas - Denny; Godfrey Quigley - Rita's Father; Christopher Casson - Professor; Marie Conmee - Customer in Hairdresser's; Kim Fortune - Collins; Philip Hurdwood - Tiger; Oliver Maguire - Tutor; Dearbhla Molloy - Elaine; Derry Power - Photographer; Hilary Reynolds - Lesley; Maeve Germaine - Sandra; Patricia Jeffares - Rita's Mother; Alan Stanford - Bistro Manager; Gabrielle Reidy - Barbara; Des Nealon - Invigilator; Gerry Sullivan - Security Officer; Pat Daly - Bursar; Jack Walsh - Price
Credit
Maurice Fowler - Art Director, Nuala Moiselle - Casting, William P. Cartlidge - Co-producer, Candice Paterson - Costume Designer, Lewis Gilbert - Director, Garth Craven - Editor, David Hentschel - Composer (Music Score), Freddie Williamson - Makeup, Frank Watts - Cinematographer, Lewis Gilbert - Producer, Daniel Brisseau - Sound/Sound Designer, Michel Cheyko - Sound/Sound Designer, Willy Russell - Screenwriter, Ron Davis - Supervising Sound Editor
Educating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer.
The play follows the relationship between a young Liverpudlian working-class hairdresser and Dr. Frank Bryant, a middle-aged University lecturer, during the course of a semester.
Susan(who initially calls herself Rita), dissatisfied with the routine of her work and social life, seeks inner growth by signing up for and attending an Open University course in English. The play opens as 'Rita' meets her tutor, Frank for the first time. Dr Frank Bryant is a middle-aged, alcoholic career academic who has taken on the tutorship to pay for his drink. The two have an immediate and profound effect on one another; Frank is impressed by Susan's verve and earnestness and is forced to re-examine his attitudes and position in life; Susan finds Frank's tuition opens doors to a bohemian lifestyle and a new self-confidence. However, Frank's bitterness and cynicism return as he notices Susan beginning to adopt the pretentions of the University culture he despises. Susan becomes disillusioned by a friend's attempted suicide and realizes that her new social niche is rife with the same dishonesty and superficiality she had previously sought to escape. The play ends as Frank, sent to Australia on a sabbatical, welcomes the possibilities of the change.
Themes
The play deals with the concept of freedom, change, England's class system, the shortcomings of institutional education, and the nature of self-development and of personal relationships. The play borrows from the classic myth Pygmalion.
The play was adapted by Russell for radio in 2009. It starred Bill Nighy and Laura Dos Santos and was a 90 minute play, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Boxing day 2009.
