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The Rachel Papers

1989 · 95 min

A wry, bookish coming-of-age comedy that charms with its eccentric characters and bittersweet look at first love and self-discovery.

Directed by
Damian Harris
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Tagline
She's curious, he's nervous
Overview
Poised to attend Oxford University, 19-year-old Charles Highway decides it's high time to have a romantic encounter with an older woman. With the help of a computer program and several eccentric relatives, Highway sets his sights on seducing Rachel Noyce, a stunning American in her 20s. However, Highway has his work cut out for him. Noyce has a boyfriend, DeForest, and is not exactly receptive to Highway's advances — at first, anyway.

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Directed by
Damian Harris
Genres
Comedy, Romance
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • lightstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • coming-of-age
  • love
  • identity
  • obsession
  • class
Places
  • big city
  • school
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour6
Realism7
Romance6
Tension3
Darkness3
Complexity5
Emotional weight4

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Cast

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Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, romance
Directed by
Damian Harris
Written by
Damian Harris
Starring
Dexter Fletcher, Ione Skye, Jonathan Pryce, James Spader, Bill Paterson, Michael Gambon, Lesley Sharp, Jared Harris
Music
Chaz Jankel
Cinematography
Alex Thomson
Runtime
95 min
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English

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