A Masterpiece!

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I don't know why this is thought highly of by critics - it's one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's slow, dull, unfunny and none of the characters are likable. There's no indication as to what the protagonist wants to do with her literature qualification. Does she want to find a good job? If so, as what? Does she want educated friends? We never find out.Why does the protagonist call herself Rita, when her real name is Susan? If she wants to become classy, cultured etc. - then why swap one common, ordinary name for another?Michael Caine's character is a tired, cardboard cutout alcoholic. He's not the inspiring, enthusiastic, charismatic character that he's meant to be. He's a great actor, but he's wasted in this role.

At first,ye,ye Julie Walters is a working class woman,awkward husband who doesn't want her to go to tutorials with Tutor Michael Caine.Then she becomes too knowledgeable nd know it all,distancing her from the prof.Yep sums up the film.Yet I watched it in silence,and it hurt.Her flatmate Trish saying'when there is no poetry and music it's just me,and that's not enough'.It was a bit close for comfort,yes it's a funny film,but the quandary Rita ends up in is too true.But as she says'at least I have the choice'.Lifes what you make it I suppose. I think if there is any film too watch that you can genuinely learn from,this is the one. Eleanor

'Educating Rita' follows in the grand tradition of British cinematic drama. It is an excellent, if slightly idealised follow-through to the likes of 'Saturday Night & Sunday Morning' or 'A Taste Of Honey', in the way that 'Billy Elliot' was a refinement of 'Kes'.Julie Walters plays the titular Rita. She's a working-class housewife who also does turns as a hairdresser. Her life is going absolutely nowhere. And she feels it. In truth; she is a highly intelligent and talented individual who has been betrayed by the education system. Now, a generation later, she means to try again.Micheal Caine plays the university tutor who finds himself tasked with her learning. He has demons of his own. Long-unresolved issues with an ex-partner and low self-esteem send him to the bottle for comfort.Gradually, a friendship develops between the two. For Caine's character it becomes a little more. But Rita is too self obsessed to notice. She likes her mentor, but she doesn't love him.These two characters dominate this movie. There are some perfectly competent cameos from other British actors, but cameos are all they are. This is a story about two people. There are lots of interesting touches and unexpected turns. Rita finds lodgings with a woman of similar age who possesses all of the wit, charm, and 'posh education' that she herself craves. But yet this woman is unloved, and all of these treasures are no substitute. She attempts suicide. Caine's character possesses them also, yet he is a self-destructive alcoholic. Its message seems to be 'All that glisters...' The ending is neither happy nor sad. It is simply a steadfast resolution in that great British tradition.Walters is so talented that she would give a wonderful turn even without a director. And I personally regard this as Caine's best work. I cannot imagine anyone not thoroughly enjoying this movie. It is, frankly, a belter.Although released in 1983, I'm not certain as to when it is actually supposed to be set. Caine's character is driving a Triumph Herald; that car went out of production in 1971. Also, the airport and the airport protocol look decidedly 60's. So I dunno.But not to worry. Just give it a whizz and watch two British Greats strike sparks off a cracking script and play the devil with all manner of stirring situations.

When you watch the film entitled "Educating Rita" you might try superimposing similar films like My Fair Lady. The basis for them is similar. Here we have Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) as a surly, boozy English professor who encounters Rita (Julie Walters) a young housewife dreaming of being part of the educated university crowd who are able to discuss English writers and poets with a certain flair and panache. Rita who changes her name to Susan, views them with secret envy and desires to be accepted as one of them. Her husband on the other hand, wants nothing more than to have Rita bear his children and thinks Rita should be satisfied with being a commoner. However, once convinced Rita is sincere, Bryant does his best to develop her abilities which surprising enough are considerable. What Rita does not know and which Caine tries to warn her of, is that her basic grasp of English Writers is innocently superior to the soggy, established and often mundane approaches accepted by the collegial crowd. Nevertheless, Rita ignores his advice and slowly morphs into her ideal while attempting to reform her teacher, a failed poet who wants nothing more than to accept his status of being a 'fixture' in his marriage and the arena of academics. This is a great film for Caine and fun for anyone who dreams of being someone else. ***