The Lesson

In supposed thriller "The Lesson" aspiring writer Daryl McCormack (future huge star pending the right BIG role) is an English Lit tutor to Stephen McMillan, son of Julie Delpy & Richard E Grant (terrific) - whose other son killed himself two years prior. The domineering Grant's a once acclaimed author who's close to finishing his comeback novel, but in staying with the family at their beautiful, isolated home McCormack unearths secrets beneath their tension. Debut director Alice Troughton & debut writer Alex MacKeith tick the boxes, albeit with some clichés, to deliver a passable Brit-drama... that's sadly a tad too mild & predictable to be considered a true 'thriller'.

THE LESSON is a terrible title for an excellent film. It's an economically made film. It utilizes a small cast with only a handful of speaking roles. There are only two locales-a country estate (about 95% of the time) and a TV studio (the other 5%). The soundtrack orchestra is composed of only a few instruments. But it nonetheless comes off as rather classy. The situation is that a revered writer and his wife hire a tutor for their son whom they feel MUST be accepted by a prestigious college. The couple are both domineering. When they speak, it's an order. Their son is brilliant, but an emotional mess. The tutor is a handsome and articulate young man of mixed-race, who comes with sterling credentials (and is also an aspiring writer). The tutor lives in the house and sees a lot more than he would like to of the couple's private life. It turns out that a tragic event happened in this family five years earlier. What really happened and why? Gradually, one begins to see the complex web of relationships among the characters. Whose point-of-view should the viewer believe? This is an intelligent and challenging script, at times evocative of Tom Stoppard or Harold Pinter. The screenwriter, Alex MacKeith, is the real star of this movie. The cast are all fine, but I was a big Richard E. Grant fan to start with. He does not disappoint. Where I think the film falls short is in the pacing. It's a little flat. Every scene is played at the same level at the same pace. It could have used some peaks and valleys. It looks gorgeous though, with great art decoration and cinematography. Isobel Weller Bridge's musical score is just right.

The movie also has a lot of ideas about writing and writers. As Richard E. Grant's character says, "Good writers borrow; Great writers steal." There's a lot to this movie, but I don't want to spoil anything in this review. It would make a great double-bill with the documentary UMBERTO ECO-A LIBRARY OF THE WORLD. If you like Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard, you would probably enjoy this movie.

"Good writers borrow, great writers steal." J. M. Sinclair (Richard E. Grant)

In director Alice Troughton's intriguing film, The Lesson, the three major characters of the film, viz, Sinclair; his art-curator wife, Helene; and Liam (Daryl McCormack), the tutor, are antagonists but of the very smart outer and menacing interior types. Because these enigmatic characters are performed by accomplished actors, it takes a while to figure out who's who, and what does each want from the other.

Starting with the above quote, each steals something like great authors do to manipulate the figurative stage of the elegant English country estate bounded by a pond with a notorious past. Namely, the drowning of one of Sinclair's sons, and his figurative presence that seems to affect each of them. The undercurrent of danger could be out of Poe.

As Liam settles into his job to tutor young son Bertie (Stephen McMillan), he is evidently obsessed with Sinclair's writing fame and vulnerable to Sinclair's criticism of his first novel. Liam is also vulnerable to Helene's charms as the plot thickens. Why such a bright young man couldn't anticipate the intrigues or why he signs agreements that need a lawyer's advice required my willing suspension of disbelief.

Writer Alex MacKeith never lets go of the notion that writing as a profession or art can send writers down a dark path. Sinclair has been working on this last novel for so many years that his fans think he has retired. Writer's block? Possibly, but the has enough demons to stop Shakespeare.

Isobel Waller-Bridge's score tinkles enough to suggest tranquility or at least art films in general. Anna Patarakina's cinematography captures languid summers at wealthy estates. Like the score, what's underneath is different from the accepted norms of the beautiful images. While the aforesaid Poe reminds us of the dangers in old mansion like The House of Usher, it is still a thrill to feel the tradition even in a modernized version such a Sinclair's. We learn from The Lesson not to accept anything for its surface. The underneath is what counts.

The Lesson is a summer delight far removed from the cacophony of blockbusters.

As "The Lesson" (2023 release from the UK; 103 min) opens, we are introduced in the "Prologue" to Liam, who has just published his first novel and is sitting down for an interview. We then go back in time to "Part I" and Liam arrives at a large state in rural England, to become a private tutor to a young man whom Liam will prep for the Oxford entrance exam. The young man's dad is renowned writer J. M. Sinclair, who is working on a new novel. Helene, the mom, is there as well. At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the feature length debut of British director Alice Troughton, best known for he work on "Doctor Who". Here she brings a psychological thriller of sorts (not a fear-fest in any way). Given that this is a plot-heavy movie, the less that is said about that, the better. I will say that there was one plot twist I did not see coming at all, but that I also in my mind correctly predicted how the movie would end. The good news is that the lead performers are all super enjoyable, none more so that Richard E. Grant (as J. M. Sinclair). It wasn't until the movie end credits rolled that I realized that Helene is played by none other than Julie Delpy. I wasn't familiar with Daryl McCormick, who plays Liam. These are winning performances, period. The movie itself was ok but just ok.

"The Lesson" premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival to good acclaim, although I was a little surprised to see that this is currently rated 83% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which feels a little high to me. The movie was released this past weekend in limited theaters. The Tuesday early evening screening where I saw this at my local arthouse theater here in Cincinnati was attended dismally: 1 other person besides myself. If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller with great lead performances, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

About 30 minutes into 'The Lesson' I had to look up its IMDb page to make sure I hadn't misread it being a thriller. It was off to a very slow start. That isn't to say I wasn't enjoying it, just that there was going to have to be a notable tone shift in order for that to be the case. And there was, but the whole time it felt like this movie was struggling to get out of first gear.

The film has a good cast and some decent dialogue and the story has 'potential' (for lack of a better term). It's just that everything feels a little half-baked. It never commits to anything. It isn't willing to pull the trigger and dare to be something great and memorable. The film reminded me a lot of 'Saltburn' (also starring Richard E. Grant in the father role funny enough), only a light version of that movie.

I really wanted to like this movie more. And I should be clear that I didn't dislike the movie by any means, I just felt that it could've been more than it ultimately was. 6/10.