Private Lesson Review: Film That Stages Many of The Genre Clichés | Özel Ders
Cast: Bensu Soral, Helin Kandemir, Hatice Aslan, Halit Ozgur Sari, Rami Narin
Director: Kivanc Baruonu
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 2.5/5 (two stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Have you ever wondered what the movie Hitch would have been like if the protagonist was a beautiful young woman who gives Private Lesson, and her clients were teenage girls in need of something? Well, Tutorial, a Turkish rom-com that entered the Netflix catalog on December 16, 2022, written by Murat Disli and Yasemin Erturan and directed by the award-winning Turkish director Kivanç Baruönü, starring Bensu Soral, Halit Özgür Sari and Helin Kandemir, is the answer to this question. Just like in Will Smith’s 2005 romantic comedy, he would like to play with the characters, with their lives, talking about feelings and growing up.
Turkish rom-coms continue to proliferate on Netflix: the latest addition to the streaming platform’s catalog is Private Lesson, which combines the tropes of the genre – the search for a soul mate, an “outsider” protagonist who transforms completely to conquer that who he hopes will become his better half – to the narrative and, above all, acting implausibility of soap operas. In our review of Private Lesson, we will see how this film does not detach itself from the trend of the many similar products of Turkish origin that go crazy on social networks, which are difficult to involve the viewer but continue to be talked about for the dose of healthy trash that they spring.
Private Lesson Review: The Story
Private Lesson is about Azra (Soral) who makes a living teaching teenage girls what they need. It is not quite clear what she actually teaches these young high school students, but then she understands well: she pretends to instruct them in whatever subject their parents want but she helps them achieve their true desires, hiding her activity from parents. Some pursue arts while others seek help in finding a boyfriend. This group belongs to Hande (Kandemir) who needs some help to get the boy she likes. After overhearing a classmate declare how Azra’s lessons have changed her life, the teenager seeks out her and forces her to accept her as her student. Hande is outgoing and talkative but an outsider, living with her aunt, who happens to be the headmistress of the school, and lacks the confidence to follow up on her crush, Utku (Rami Narin).
Azra finally agrees to help Hande who gradually learns the art of seduction: Azra takes Hande to buy trendy clothes, drink tequila, go to parties to conquer, and teaches her how to behave with men. Azra also meets Burak (Sari), the new neighbor and maybe she too will have to get involved. As in any self-respecting romantic comedy, the two can’t stand each other at first, but soon begin to grow closer. Burak’s ability to magically save the day whenever Azra is in trouble is what will bring them closer together.
Private Lesson Review and Analysis
Private Lesson is a film that sets many of the clichés of the genre: the search for a soul mate, an “outsider” protagonist who transforms completely to conquer what she hopes will become her better half, a teacher who then forgets her teachings. The film will therefore be built on the one hand on Azra’s relationship with her pupil, on the other on Azra’s relationship with Burak. Both young women will grow and mature. Hande is a sometimes-annoying girl, a little nosy, she wants to feel at ease with herself and with others, she claims to be different from the others, but to conquer those she likes she changes; she wants the same things desired by many other teenagers. Hande, the girl with a fetish for books, is drinking tequila at a party, she is meeting the boy she likes, and chaos is about to end.
Azra is a jack of all trades, she can do anything, she can teach anything and therefore can solve any teenage problem. She is always perfect there, she has perfect looks, and perfect makeup, she is a sort of fairy godmother who often annoys the viewer. Azra only thinks about her goal and often the jokes aren’t funny, she tells Hande that “inner beauty” is important, but she says this as she hands her Victoria’s Secret bra, Hande loves to read, and she always wants to be ready, Azra tells her that books are useless. In short, to conquer someone you have to change completely, and build a character: she has to buy new clothes to flirt with a boy, even if you already have a lot of them, have fun at parties, and drink.
Private Lesson is a romantic comedy contrived at every level: direction, scenography, interpretations, everything we are told seems implausible, starting with the “fairy touch” of Azra, a handyman with practically no backstory, who can solve any adolescent problem. Between very tight smiles and makeup that forcibly wants to make her appear bigger, Bensu Soral is forced into the role of a fairy godmother who borders on the ridiculous and who in no way, if not perhaps the Turkish public, can involve the attention of spectators. Azra thinks only of her goal – the phantom Private Lesson of the title that everyone wants – and, unfortunately, we realize it from really unfortunate jokes: she claims that “inner beauty” is important as she hands a pair of Victoria’s Secret bras to Hande and explicitly declares that she doesn’t care that “some children die of hunger”: you absolutely have to buy new clothes to flirt with a boy, even if you already own a lot.
On the other hand, even Hande appears unbearable on several occasions: he never manages to “slow down” and to adopt the inner balance that Azra tries so hard to preserve, so their modus operandi immediately appears irreconcilable: whereas Hande is inclined to study, she loves to read and always wants to be ready, Azra promptly replies that books are useless and that she must learn to put things into practice. Following the dramaturgical evolution of products of this type, in Private Lesson, the facts follow one another quickly trying to direct the viewer’s attention toward what happens rather than how narrative turns are shown. If one completely surrenders to the way this film’s story is told, Private Lesson won’t bore you – as long as the viewer fully accepts its utter implausibility.
Lessons private will hardly conquer the Italian public for “cinematographic” merits: over the top, never captivating, and, focusing entirely on an acting side along the lines of a soap opera, the tone and rhythm of the film seem out of place even on Netflix. Perhaps the only way to be captivated by Private Lesson is to look at the product as a pleasant source of carefree entertainment, the “female” version of Hitch (2005), with Will Smith as the protagonist. Private Lesson will win the hearts of very young spectators who wish to escape the daily grind and dream that an Azra can appear in their lives to solve every problem and make them invincible. And who are we to deprive them of this perspective? Turkish rom-coms have proven in recent years that they exist, above all, to make the far-fetched a perfect dream for teenagers.
Private Lesson Review: The Last Words
Private Lesson follows the evolution of products of this kind but fails to impress the public. Things happen quickly but there is no surprise, one is not surprised about almost anything. Implausible at every level, from the technical side to its plot twists, Private Lesson confirms the tendency of Turkish rom-coms to be talked about more for the trashy component that distinguishes them, than for actual cinematic merits.
