1. Rita, Sue and Bob Too, 1986, Alan Clarke,
Film Four/British Screen Productions, UK
Watch the opening sequence. What does this tell
us about the setting?
Sex scene up on the moors
 Look at the bullet points below. Explain how each of these ideas
are explored in the scene.
o Loveless
o A brief escape for the girls
o Confused ideas about a partner/lover/patriarch (a male provider)
Sue
o Homework used by her brothers to make notes on horseracing
o Mother can’t afford money for cookery class
o No respect for authority: teachers
o Bunks off school
Rita
o Does not want to finish school: defeated, let down, failed, no reason to
continue
o Pregnant, moves in with Bob, miscarriage/loses the baby
o Wants a patriarchal (male centred) home life which she perceives as
being normal
Scene analysis
“not much to do”: Walking home from school with Rita
 Using the information above and the extract, explain how issues
relating to Thatcher’s Britain are explored
Bob
o (to Sue) “I know your Dad. He’s done a few jobs for me.”
o Greedy: wife and affair with two girls
o Sex mad
o Had affair before with previous babysitter
o Blames wife. Manipulates her through guilt
o Liar: “owners have gone to Spain” (to Rita about showhouse)

2. o Trying to escape the trapping of suburban life
Michelle (Bob’s Wife)
o Does not want Bob to leave her
o Frustrates Bob
o ‘Prim and proper’, stuck up, traditional conservative?-flawed
o Sterilised (cannot have any more children)
o Poor sex life with Bob – no fun?
Scene analysis
Michelle finds condom in Bob pocket; argument; conversation with Rita and
Sue in Bedroom
 Using the above information on Bob and his Wife, and the
scene, discuss what themes are being explored here.
Consider why Michelle is so forgiving of Bob. How does
Bob defend himself?
Scene analysis
“cow pat” scene:Rita, Sue and Bob appear similar; childish; private isolation
from the rest of the world; they want to escape? Bob cannot get an erection-
guilt?
 Using the scene above, explain what ideas are explored. What
similarities are there between Rita, Sue and Bob?
 Outside nightclub Rita is greeted by Aslam – is this a more
appropriate relationship? Why?
Scene analysis
“Better than Match of the Day…”: Empowered women; contrasting social
environments; Michelle defends Bob up until the end: a fear of him leaving
her/failing in her role; ultimately she leaves him: a new woman?
 What does this scene tell us about the changing role of women in
1980’s Britain? Use micro elements such as mise-en-scene and
dialogue to explain this.

3. Suburbia
Nosey neighbours, sterile, lifeless, birds singing, pristine, racist, immaculate
gardens
 These are some words that might be used to explain how
suburbia is represented in this film. Why do you think director
Alan Clarke did this?
Racial divide
Aslam
Naïve. Dim-witted. Jealous. Violent.
Sue’s father
Drunk. Racist.
Aslam’s sister only speaks Urdu- Aslam translates for Sue
In cinema, Sue watches a Bollywood movie. It is alien to her.
Scene analysis
1On hilltop with Aslam: Innocent? Normal?‘I’ve never been out with a Paki
before.’
2. Aslam goes to Sue’s house
 Why do you think that such scenes are included? Are they
offensive? What do they tell us about race and ethnicity in 1980’s
Britain?

4. End scene
Bob’s house
o Messy. No matriarch. (Bob to Rita: “what about my tea?”)
o Teenagers in the house-Bob’s lovers
o Alsam pleading outside for Sue to come back to him
o Jealousy, rage, blame, no future
Scene analysis
Bob at home: it is a mess. He looks dejected.
Rita and Sue wait upstairs in Bed under a Union Jack bed cover. Both parties
submit to this- no hope. No future. Short term solution. No regard for the long
term.
 Sum up the ideology of the film make and, using bullet points,
identify the key themes explored in the film
Justin Hobay (BFI) suggests that
‘The film uses the differing domestic locations to highlight the growing gap
between Thatcher's home-owning nouveau riche and those left behind in sink
estates, victims of the poverty trap.’
He goes on to say that
[director] Clarke treats the alcoholism, racism and domestic violence that
provide a backdrop to Rita and Sue's world in typically matter-of-fact fashion
while subtle observations of modern life - like Bob's nosey neighbour who
calls the police because he sees an Asian boy in his affluent neighbourhood -
are deftly comic.
 Using examples from the film, explain what he means in these two
points