Educating Rita

1 9 8 3 (UK)

The well-intentioned (but frequently drunk) Professor Bryant (Michael Caine) has his despair in life and boredom with teaching disrupted by the arrival of a determined female student called Rita (Julie Walters). She is married, doesn't want kids, but untiringly wants to learn more about life, and the professor shares what he can, but the attention to her studies places a strain on the lives of the two characters. 

Adapted by Willy Russell from his stage play. This was Walters's film debut, reprising her stage role. Educating Rita received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor (Caine) and Best Actress (Walters) - who won Golden Globe Awards - and for Best Adapted Screenplay.