*SPOILER ALERT*
Michael Caine's portrayal of a British academic of a certain age is spot on. Although some of these characters were pretty useless, others were great people who needed to be allowed their 'space' in a way they are not any longer and some of each of these characteristics can be seen in Caine's portrayal of Frank.
Julie Walters character has some fine moments, such as when her husband burns her books and when he says, 'Of course we have done Blake' on the park bench with Frank, but there are other times when you can see her "acting" too much and the sense of reality is lost.
On the whole Educating Rita is a good film rather than a great one, but in what was a barren period for British films, it does at least avoid the pitfalls of tedious leftie-ism that so many others fell headlong into at the time.
A diverting 'compare and contrast' is to put Caine's drunk academic giving a lecture routine against Ian Carmichael's in 'Lucky Jim' and see which is the less embarrassing. 'Do you mean embarrassingly bad acting or a successful creation of a sense of embarrassment by a good actor?' I hear you ask. Well, decide for yourself.
Michael Caine's portrayal of a British academic of a certain age is spot on. Although some of these characters were pretty useless, others were great people who needed to be allowed their 'space' in a way they are not any longer and some of each of these characteristics can be seen in Caine's portrayal of Frank.
Julie Walters character has some fine moments, such as when her husband burns her books and when he says, 'Of course we have done Blake' on the park bench with Frank, but there are other times when you can see her "acting" too much and the sense of reality is lost.
On the whole Educating Rita is a good film rather than a great one, but in what was a barren period for British films, it does at least avoid the pitfalls of tedious leftie-ism that so many others fell headlong into at the time.
A diverting 'compare and contrast' is to put Caine's drunk academic giving a lecture routine against Ian Carmichael's in 'Lucky Jim' and see which is the less embarrassing. 'Do you mean embarrassingly bad acting or a successful creation of a sense of embarrassment by a good actor?' I hear you ask. Well, decide for yourself.