Rent The Lesson (2023)

A claustrophobic tale featuring the tutor, the writer, his wife, and their son - The Lesson review by Philip in Paradiso

This is an intriguing film which could be a play: it has 5 characters and all the action takes place in one location - the beautiful villa of a famous writer and his wife. The movie is about the interaction between the 4 main characters, assisted by the near-silent and enigmatic butler, who is the 5th character - the person who sees everything but says nothing.

Liam Sommers (Daryl McCormack) is a PhD student at the University of Oxford. Through a tuition agency, he lands a job teaching a teenager, Bertie Sinclair, whose aim is to sit the entrance exam in order to gain admission to Oxford. Liam is to coach him, the focus being on English literature and exam techniques. Over the summer, while coaching Bertie, Liam is to stay on the estate, as it is far from the nearest town. He is given comfortable living quarters in a small house on the estate. Bertie's father is JM Sinclair (Richard E Grant), a famous and successful writer whom Liam worships. Bertie's mother is the writer's French wife, Hélène Sinclair (July Delpy). Tensions between the 3 adults and the teenager soon surface. Liam learns that Bertie's brother, Felix, committed suicide by drowning - in the beautiful pond situated in front of the family mansion. Felix's death casts its long shadow over the entire family.

The film is a psychological thriller that wants you to believe that it is very, very clever. It did remind me of 'The Swimming-Pool', the 1969 French masterpiece of the genre with Alain Delon. 'The Lesson' is good, but it is nowhere nearly as good as the French classic. Something, somehow is missing: there is a lack of emotional relevance and dramatic tension, despite the director's best efforts. The acting is good overall (R E Grant is more than convincing), but various aspects are rather implausible and what is more problematical is that the story develops slowly and predictably until the climax, at the end, i.e. the last 20 to 25 minutes. That climax, I found very good and very well put together, but it takes too long getting there, somehow. So, I enjoyed the movie but it is not, in my view, quite as good as what some reviewers have pretended.

Uneasy life for the well healed family - The Lesson review by PT

Enticing draw into a complicated relationship with a family having a high healed life style. Wonderful acting from a small cast all giving strong performances and a really interesting story line.

Intriguing Drama with a hint of mystery - The Lesson review by GI

A drama about conceit, grief and ultimately revenge with Richard E. Grant having the time of his life being let loose as a subtle yet monsterish diva. This is an amusing story with much to applaud and the film pulls you along in the knowledge there is something to be revealed. Ultimately it may feel a little bit of a let down but the journey is definitely worth your time. Grant plays Sinclair, a renowned novelist, who lives with his art collector wife, Hélène (Julie Delpy) and their teenage son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) in a large country house with extensive grounds and a lake. The family are consumed with grief over the death of their eldest son and Sinclair has retreated into a moody isolation supposedly to write his next bestseller. Bertie is a morose, introverted lad and his parents employ Liam (Daryl McCormack), an aspiring author in awe of Sinclair, to tutor Bertie through the entrance exams for Oxford University. But Liam begins to see another side to the family and not everyone is telling the truth. The story feels like an Agatha Christie mystery at times and certainly the scenario of the country house with the butler and a dysfunctional set of inhabitants lends itself to that vibe. The film isn't like that in plot although there is one. This is more a study of awful people, who believe they amount to more than they actually do. Intriguing and very watchable.