The Lesson

October 16, 2023

Showings 4:30, 7:00 and 9:10pm

British | 2023 | Rating R | English | Thriller | 103 minutes

The Lesson is a British psychological thriller directed by Alice T. Troughton. The English countryside setting is one of ease and luxury, rather like a modernized Downton Abbey without the aristocrats.  

A young novelist and aspiring writer, Liam (Daryl McCormack) eager to make a name for himself accepts a tutoring position at the family estate of his idol, renowned author J.M. Sinclair (Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant). Good intentions soon give way to suspicion as darker motivations surface and the lines of master and protégé are blurred.  

Liam soon realizes that he is ensnared in a web of family secrets, resentment, and retribution. Sinclair, his wife Hélène (Academy Award nominee Julie Delpy), and their son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) all guard a dark past, one that threatens Liam’s future as well as their own.

“Under its elegant surface, The Lesson takes on heavy issues of art, inspiration, classicism, betrayal and revenge in one beautiful, impressive little package.”
Hollywood Reporter