Under the Spotlight: Julie Walters’ empowered performance in ‘Educating Rita’
Julie Walters is undeniably British acting royalty. She has appeared in everything from the Harry Potter series to Mamma Mia!, Paddington, Billy Elliot, and Brave, and is instantly recognisable to most Britons. Yet, her first film role in Educating Rita, playing the determined titular character opposite Michael Caine, is arguably her greatest performance.
Before playing the role, she had performed as Rita in the stage version of the film, so she was well acquainted with the part. In turn, it’s hard to believe that Rita isn’t real – namely because Walters does such a fantastic job of making the character a relatable and realistic working-class woman. Indeed, there were many Ritas out there when the movie came out in 1983, and there are still many Ritas, desperate for more but limited by their socio-economic position.
The film follows Rita as she attends one-on-one night classes held by Caine’s Dr Frank Bryant via The Open University. She is a Liverpudlian hairdresser who lives with her husband, and when she appears in Frank’s office, chatty and charming, she makes for a stark contrast to his alcoholic, depressive tendencies. They clash, but she is determined to get a degree and escape the confines of her life, which she feels is limited by a job she dislikes.
Scared to become a mother for fear that she will have to sacrifice her independence and dreams, she soon finds that her husband is not happy with her attempts to become more highly educated, resulting in him burning her books. He is an oppressive force on her happiness, and Walters does a great job of communicating those complex feelings that many women experience when they’re trapped in a relationship that feels familiar but also one that you’re starting to outgrow.
Eventually, she garners the courage to leave him, becoming more involved in academia while also showing Frank that he shouldn’t take the wealth of knowledge and resources he has at his fingertips for granted. They both benefit from each other’s presence, and Walters is a treat to watch as she saunters through campus in little heels, definitely not worn by the average student, or fixing Frank’s door handle unprompted.
As a working-class woman, all Rita wants is to escape the trappings of her current routine, even if that means spending all of her spare time reading and writing. She doesn’t want to betray her roots, she simply wants to know if there is more out there for her, and if she is capable of gaining the kind of education that she never thought she’d be able to achieve.
Walters’ charm makes Educating Rita such an entertaining watch, but it is also her ability to deliver breathtaking monologues about Rita’s experience as a working-class woman that makes her performance so incredible. In one scene, she recalls her plan to ditch a tutorial and go to the pub, where her family and friends are, to which Frank asks, “Why didn’t you?” She replies: “You think because you pass a pub doorway and hear them all singing, you think we’re all okay, that we’re all surviving with the spirit intact.” It is one of the film’s most unforgettable lines.
She then reveals that her mother told her that there must be better songs to sing, to which she says, “That’s what I’m trying to do, isn’t it? Sing a better song.” It’s a poignant monologue about her desire for something more, something better, and Walters delivers it flawlessly. We really believe her need for making her dreams into reality because Walters espouses such naturalism and determination in every line, even in quieter moments.
Educating Rita showed Walters to be a tremendous actor, and she rightly earned an Oscar nomination for her performance. As Rita, Walters encapsulated the experience of working-class life for many women. She doesn’t quite fit in at times, and in other moments she proves that literature has the power to transcend boundaries and unite us. Her performance is multi-faceted but always magnificent, and alongside Caine, the movie truly becomes a masterclass in acting.
