Review of Educating Rita (1983) by Maggie S — 25 Apr 2011

The film was made in the '80s so it's a bit too old-fashioned, in that it's a bit cliched (especially the music!), but that's understandable. As for the story, my first comment would be: yeah, education is not about 'singing a better song' but just about 'singing a different song'. But it also touches upon the in-between space that you enter when you start doing something different, when you start becoming different. I would have liked to see a further exploration of this side of the issue ... or, perhaps it does? They both entered this space, Rita becoming educated and Frank becoming, well, educated too (though in his case by the world 'outside'), but couldn't constitute a third category by getting together. They could have, but they did not.

Anyway, it is a good film and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Open University, the British class system, or any other sociological stuff :) And I sincerely hope that I haven't picked up Rita's Northern accent......!