The Lesson (2023) | Dir Alice Troughton
Julie Delpy and Daryl McCormack in The Lesson. Courtesy of Bleecker Street
Text: Belle McIntyre
This is almost a perfect chamber quartet – housed in a spacious yet claustrophobic English country estate inhabited by a high-toned family of two accomplished parents and a sullen, awkward, and miserable teenage son. The patriarch, J.M. Sinclair (Richard Grant) is a revered novelist, possibly past his prime, but maintaining an attitude of arch condescension as he struggles to finish his current novel. His French wife, Hèlène (July Delpy), a curator and collector of contemporary art, appears to be fairly bored with country life, yet very involved with her struggling son, Bertie (Stephen McMillan) who is studying frantically to get into Oxford under intense pressure from his father. He is practically paralyzed with anxiety. It is in this hothouse that Liam (Daryl McCormack), an aspiring writer who moonlights as a tutor, finds himself sent by his agency. Liam is bright, charming, and optimistic and in the thrall of Sinclair, who, unbeknownst to them, is the subject of his dissertation. The Sinclairs take to young Liam and engage him directly, without the agency, to move in to help Bertie. Liam eagerly seizes the opportunity. He also signs an NDA agreement along with a limited contract.
Daryl McCormack in The Lesson. Courtesy of Bleecker Street
There is barely concealed tension between Sinclair and Hélène beneath the veneer of formal politesse which escalates as the deadline for Bertie’s exams approaches and Sinclair’s editor is pressuring him for his final chapters. J.M. warms toward Liam and begins to appreciate his various abilities as they bond over after-dinner drinks and discussions about literature. Liam is also in possession of complex computer skills and is able to fix electronic glitches. He is also gifted with a photographic memory which enables him to appear better educated than his lived experience would indicate. J.M. enjoys having drinks with Liam and discussing literature, eventually trusting him to proofread his manuscript, until now a closely held secret.
Richard E. Grant in The Lesson. Courtesy of Bleecker Street
As the relationship between Liam and J.M. develops, the unspoken secrets, and there are many, start to reveal themselves, Hélène, not to be trifled with, begins to thaw her icy distance toward Liam and engage with him as an ally against the overbearing behavior of J.M. toward herself and Bertie. Thanks to his contractual arrangements Liam is caught between a rock and a hard place. And the secrets which come to the surface are cruel, tragic, and arguably unforgivable. The suicide of Felix, the older brother of Bertie, has seriously traumatized all of the Sinclairs. Yet they do not seem to have processed it. Instead, we see them as tormented by what they know and powerless to do anything about it. Needless to say, Richard Grant as J.M. Sinclair is still the most engagingly complex villain in the film. He always manages to imbue his characters with charm and humanity. The twisty denouement was a bit of a stretch. But so what? This is not an opera.
It’s a chamber piece and all of the actors were superb.
The production design and cinematography are gorgeous as is the jaunty soundtrack by Isobel Waller-Bridge, sister of Phoebe, which lightens the tension in an interesting way.
