![]() There is a real character there, just as there was in Caine's boozy diplomat in the recent flop " Beyond the Limit." In both movies, though, the characters are not well-served by the story. To the degree that "Educating Rita" does work, the credit goes to Michael Caine, who plays a man weary and kind, funny and self-hating. Russell's movie rewrite has added mistresses, colleagues, husbands, in-laws, students and a faculty committee, all unnecessary. They were on the stage together for a long time, and by the end of the play we had shared in their developing relationship. The original "Educating Rita," a long-running London stage hit by Willy Russell, had only the two characters. Because even the movie doesn't really believe that, it departs from the stage play to bring in a lot of phony distractions. ![]() The books are like incantations that, used properly, will exorcise Cockney accents and alcoholism. There is a lot of talk about Blake this and Wordsworth that. They pass the books back and forth a lot. The idea of the curmudgeon and the Cockney was not new when Bernard Shaw wrote "Pygmalion," and it is not any newer in "Educating Rita." But it could have been entertaining, if only I'd believed they were reading those books. She sees him as a man who ought to sober up and return to his first love, writing poems. Caine sees Walters as a fresh, honest, unspoiled intelligence. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say they both fall into love with the remake job they'd like to do on each other.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |