RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO   1987. Directed by Alan Clarke. 94 minutes. In English.
Alan Clarke was one of the most brilliant and wide-ranging directors working in England in the 80s. His landmark films shifted from the hard-hitting drama of Scum to the otherworldly folklore-horror of Penda's Fen. This film is also something completely different for Clarke, a provocative comedy embedded in social realism. It's about two babysitters, Rita and Sue, who sexually fall for the same guy, Bob. It's clear that our society likes to take a pessimistic view of such unusual relationships, and loves to condemn them to a self-destructive end, almost to the point of propaganda. That isn't the case with this flick though, which is an adaption of a play by the piercing (female) writer Andrea Dunbar, and is based on her own life in the dreary Buttershaw housing estate in Bradford.
For the most part, the British can be pretty awkward with the topic of sex, at least in terms of cinema or television. And that is one of the things that makes this exuberant movie so special. It also has a brilliant sense of raucous humor. And as you can imagine, when it hit the screens it was accused of being immoral by the mainstream media in England. Director Alan Clarke's cult following, not only with this film but his entire career, has made him an underground legend in his homeland and beyond: he was an acknowledged influence on Harmony Korine and Gus Van Sant, among many others. Tragically, he died before he was fully recognized. And wait, 'cause it gets worse: the writer Andrea Dunbar died of a brain hemorrhage aged 29, the same year Clarke himself passed away. This flick stars Siobhan Finneran, Michelle Holmes, George Costigan and Lesley Sharpe.
This will be a high-definition screening.