Educating Rita (1983) on Netflix
Rita, a 26-year-old hairdresser, enrolls in an Open University course, wanting a life beyond her job and her social life. Her tutor, Frank Bryant, drinks and has lost his love of teaching.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb7.2/1015,960 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
Susan, a 26-year-old hairdresser, calls herself Rita. She is dissatisfied with her job and her social life and does not want a child, fearing a baby would tie her to the same monotonous round for life. She wants something more profound, though she cannot say what it is, so she signs up for an Open University literature course. Her assigned tutor is Frank Bryant, a jaded man who calls himself an appalling teacher and long ago turned to the bottle. Rita's schooling leaves gaps in her grasp of the subject, but Frank finds her enthusiasm refreshing. He doubts she can adapt to student culture, yet her earnestness impresses him and forces him to re-examine his own attitudes. His passion for literature returns, and his teaching opens doors for Rita to a bohemian life and new confidence in herself.
Cast
- Kim Fortuneas Collins
- Pat Dalyas Bursar
- Philip Hurd-Woodas Tiger (as Philip Hurdwood)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Educating Rita (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Lewis Gilbert says it was difficult to raise finance for the film, and recalled of the casting: "Columbia wanted me to cast Dolly Parton as Rita".
- Although the story is set in an English university city with Scouse-accented characters, the film was shot entirely around Dublin, with British red telephone boxes added to street scenes to disguise the Irish setting.
- In 2007, while promoting the remake of Sleuth, Caine called Educating Rita "the last good picture [he] made before [he] mentally retired", and in his 2010 autobiography he named it the film of his career he may be most proud of.
- In 2002 an 82-year-old Lewis Gilbert announced plans to remake his own film with a black cast, naming Halle Berry and Denzel Washington as possible leads, but the remake never happened and his final film was Before You Go.
- Finance was raised through a new company, Acorn Productions, formed by Lewis Gilbert and his partner Herbert Oates, which attracted investors in the wake of the success of Gandhi, including the Pru and Coal Board pension funds.
- The film's London premiere at the Leicester Square Theatre on 3 May 1983 was attended by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in his capacity as president of the National Playing Fields Association.
