We have seen countless teacher/student films before and there are definitely better ones than this but this does offer a slightly different story in that the student is an adult and the teacher is someone who seems to have lost his passion for just about everything in life. Story is about Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) who's a British teacher at a university and he seems to have lost his zest for life which puts his job in jeopardy. His wife is cheating on him with his best friend and he's becoming such an alcoholic that he has started to show up for his classes drunk. One day a 26 year old Cockney woman named Rita (Julie Walters) who works as a hairdresser has tapped Frank to be her tutor as she desperately wants to get an education and hopefully change her life.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Frank is hesitant at first but he finds Rita both charming and unique and goes ahead with trying to teach her to write essays and read classic literature and poetry. Over the next year or so Rita does remarkably well and takes summer classes at other schools and becomes very smart to the point that other students ask for her help. Frank loses his wife and his drinking becomes out of control but what really bothers him is that he has developed an attraction for Rita but starts to feel that she may have moved on with her life leaving him behind.
Director Lewis Gilbert first teamed up with Michael Caine in 1966 for the hit film "Alfie" and while this is nowhere near as good as that this is still a well made and acted film. Some regard this as one of Caine's best roles but I'm not too sure of that although it is a very good performance. The script is from Willy Russell's play and one of the things that it doesn't do is explain why Frank has become so disillusioned in life. One the other hand, we understand Rita very well as someone who doesn't want to be just another uneducated woman getting pregnant. This is the film debut of Walters who had worked only on television and theater including the stage role of Rita in Russell's play. Since she's already familiar with the role Walters shows that she can hold her own with a great actor like Caine displaying her natural charm and comedic ability. Even though there is an attraction in the film the script does a good job (in my mind, anyway) of not allowing the characters to have the obligatory romance that many would expect. Caine is such a wonderful actor that he uses his face and especially his eyes to show how he really feels and the fact that he doesn't attempt to kiss her becomes irrelevant. The film isn't entirely believable as Rita's level of education becomes so immense in such a mere short time but the actors are both splendid here and they really bring a sense of who they are to the roles. Even though the film doesn't work on all levels it's still a film that offers two significant performances that still stands up to this day.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Frank is hesitant at first but he finds Rita both charming and unique and goes ahead with trying to teach her to write essays and read classic literature and poetry. Over the next year or so Rita does remarkably well and takes summer classes at other schools and becomes very smart to the point that other students ask for her help. Frank loses his wife and his drinking becomes out of control but what really bothers him is that he has developed an attraction for Rita but starts to feel that she may have moved on with her life leaving him behind.
Director Lewis Gilbert first teamed up with Michael Caine in 1966 for the hit film "Alfie" and while this is nowhere near as good as that this is still a well made and acted film. Some regard this as one of Caine's best roles but I'm not too sure of that although it is a very good performance. The script is from Willy Russell's play and one of the things that it doesn't do is explain why Frank has become so disillusioned in life. One the other hand, we understand Rita very well as someone who doesn't want to be just another uneducated woman getting pregnant. This is the film debut of Walters who had worked only on television and theater including the stage role of Rita in Russell's play. Since she's already familiar with the role Walters shows that she can hold her own with a great actor like Caine displaying her natural charm and comedic ability. Even though there is an attraction in the film the script does a good job (in my mind, anyway) of not allowing the characters to have the obligatory romance that many would expect. Caine is such a wonderful actor that he uses his face and especially his eyes to show how he really feels and the fact that he doesn't attempt to kiss her becomes irrelevant. The film isn't entirely believable as Rita's level of education becomes so immense in such a mere short time but the actors are both splendid here and they really bring a sense of who they are to the roles. Even though the film doesn't work on all levels it's still a film that offers two significant performances that still stands up to this day.