Lessons in Love (Pierce Brosnan)

(Amazon UK link)

Every so often I browse Amazon’s recommendations for DVDs, based on films I have previously liked. About a year ago it suggested ‘Lessons in Love’. While the reviews were mixed, I thought it could be a pleasant evening’s light viewing, so I added it to my list. I quite like Pierce Brosnan as an actor, which is probably what triggered the recommendation.

I was given it for my birthday a few months ago, and we decided to watch it last night. I found the opening sequences a bit too fast and confusing for my tastes, but it didn’t take long to get the gist. Pierce Brosnan plays a Cambridge University lecturer called Richard, whose speciality is the romantic era of literature. He seems to be quite a good lecturer, appreciated by the students.

However, at night Brosnan’s character changes, as he takes attractive undergraduate students to bed. If this isn’t illegal, it should be; it’s certainly unethical and should have resulted in his being fired. It’s also bizarre, and I had a hard time believing that anyone would have such a split personality.

Richard has an elderly father (Malcolm McDowell), who apparently behaved in similar style when he was a lecturer. He treats his son rudely, and is altogether a dislikable character, apparently on his fourth wife. He doesn’t at all disapprove of Richard being promiscuous, but is highly disapproving of his current girl, an American called Kate (Jessica Alba).

Then Richard meets and is attracted to an older woman called Olivia (Salma Hayek), who turns out to be Kate’s older sister. This, too, is hard to believe as the two have totally different accents; but perhaps they were supposed to be half-sisters. It would be in keeping with the rest of the film, which treats marriage as problematic and temporary.

Much of the action takes place in the United States, with yet more infidelities and promiscuity… it’s so far removed from anything I’ve ever experienced that I felt increasingly bemused. There are some good, even poignant scenes where we see Richard with his young son Jakey (Duncan Joiner). The two have an excellent relationship, and Jakey, of all the cast, was the most believable and likeable. But even these scenes are marred by the regular and unnecessary use of ‘strong’ language.

Other than in the scenes with Jakey, Brosnan’s character is sexist, degrading, and not remotely amusing. Perhaps there is a world where vulnerable women are taken advantage of by older men supposedly in positions of authority. But if so, it shouldn’t be a topic for a (supposedly) humorous film.

On the positive side, the pace is good, some of the scenery attractive, and the ending satisfactory, at least from Jakey’s point of view.

The UK rating is 15, which I suppose is about right; there are some rather direct intimate scenes although they avoid full-frontal nudity and detail. There’s a lot of bad language, too, although almost no violence. The US rating is, unsurprisingly, a more conservative R. 

Definitely not recommended for anyone under the age of 15 - and although we did watch to the end, mainly because of the excellence of young Jakey, it’s not a film I’d really recommend to anyone.

Note that in the United States, this film is called 'Some Kind of Beautiful', and in Canada 'How to Make Love Like an Englishman'.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews