Review:
They don’t make ’em like this anymore. This movie is funny and poignant, razor sharp and smart without being pretentious, and so very, very good. I literally sat around for 10 minutes after it finished, just trying to remember the last time I saw a movie this good.
Based on the play by Willy Russell, this movie works on every level. Yes, it came out in ’83 and the actors are rocking some retro looks, but nothing about it is dated or irrelevant – well, except the music, which is synthesizer heavy and jarring at times, but mostly you can watch this as a period piece. The heart of this film is the character work, and it is utterly brilliant; it makes me realize how cynical “quality” films seem to be these days, like they’re just a marketing ploy to bring home Oscars. Educating Rita is authentic quality, though it’s been so long you’ll hardly recognize it. This movie is also a display of raw acting talent – Michael Caine (Bryant) and Julie Walters (Rita) racked up well-earned Oscar nominations for their performances in this movie, Caine as the alcoholic Professor who is falling apart and Walters as the working class woman determined to better herself.
Little bits and pieces of this movie just stayed with me. There is a moment when one woman’s utter misery is summed up in one line: “There must be better songs to sing than this…” And my favorite scene is a moment where Rita has just handed in a paper that Bryant thinks is unique, but that wouldn’t pass muster on an exam – and in that moment she asks him to teach her how to be like everyone else, and he doesn’t want to. Just, wow. There is substance to this story, and it will make you think.
This movie is mesmerizing. There are no guns, no explosions, no shaky cam – just people talking back and forth, arguing, breaking each other down, calling each other out. And it is simply brilliant.
THIS is what I call a good movie.
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