The Lesson - 2023 film review

I started watching The Lesson when flying to the Nashville Bouchercon last year. Unfortunately, my screen went kaput half-way through the film, which was frustrating to say the least. Finally, I've caught up with the rest of the movie. Its immediate appeal is that it's about writing and writers, although in almost every such film I've ever seen, a key plot ingredient is plagiarism, and director Alice Troughton and writer Alex MacKeith fish in precisely the same waters. Yet even though it's not as unpredictable as it would like to be, this is an interesting movie.

The set-up is simple and the action of the film takes place in and around the country estate of a famed but reclusive writer called J.D. Sinclair (Richard E. Grant), who hasn't published anything for ages. He is married to a French artist, Helene (Julie Delpy). They have a son, Bertie, who is aiming to read English at Oxford. They hire Liam, a young Irishman with literary aspirations played by Daryl McCormack, as his tutor. 

Part of me thinks, I must admit, that if someone who has had a highly expensive education and many advantages (although not, as it turns out, a pleasant home life) still needs a tutor to scape into Oxford, perhaps the place should go to someone with fewer advantages and greater ability. But one does have to feel sympathy for a boy who has grown up surrounded by a narcissistic father, cold mother, and enigmatic butler, especially when one learns that his brother drowned in the lake in the estate.

Richard E. Grant is an interesting actor and although sometimes he takes roles that don't really seem to suit his particular gifts, that isn't the case here. His compelling performance is central to The Lesson, elevating the film from the mediocre to the definitely watchable. There's a certain lack of tension in the script, and I don't think Liam's character is as well-developed as it should have been. But visually it's good to look at from start to finish, and I'm glad I did actually get to see the end of the film, even if I did have to wait a while to do so.