The Getting of Wisdom is a 1977 Australian drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and based on the novel of the same name by Henry Handel Richardsonnote , starring Susannah Fowle, Hilary Ryan, Terence Donovan, John Watersnote , and Barry Humphries. The film also features early appearances by noted Australian actresses Kerry Armstrong, Sigrid Thornton, Noni Hazelhurst, Maggie Kirkpatrick, and Julia Blake. Set in 1890s Melbourne, the film follows Laura Rambotham (Fowle) as she is sent to attend an exclusive boarding school. Over the next four years, she struggles with such issues as acceptance, conformity, romance, friendship, and achievement.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: The other girls are resentful of Laura due to her lower-class background, and give her no small amount of grief over it.
- AM/FM Characterization: Laura would rather play pieces like Beethoven's "Sonata no. 21 in C Major" on the piano than the kind of music that the school staff expect of her. At the final school assembly, she plays that same piece by her own volition, giving an emotional, involved performance that genuinely impresses the staff despite their previous reservations.
- Ambiguously Gay: Laura. She resents the boarding school's goals of turning her into a proper lady, says that she Does Not Like Men, and enters into a relationship with her also-female music teacher, but her sexuality is never explicitly confirmed.
- As the Good Book Says...: The film's title derives from a verse in Proverbs 4:5, which is recited by one of the schoolteachers.
- At the Opera Tonight: Laura attends an opera performance with Evelyn. There she meets Evelyn's friend Jim Meredith, causing her to become jealous when she incorrectly assumes that the two are involved in an intimate relationship when in reality they're Just Friends.
- Boarding School: The film is set in an all-girls' one, based heavily on the real-life Methodist Ladies' College in Melbourne.
- Book Dumb: Laura, at the start of the film, lacks a formal education in such subjects as history or literature, but is a remarkably gifted pianist, able to play complex pieces entirely from sight.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Some of the girls casually express anti-Semitic and racist remarks, including a few directed at half-Asian student Annie Johns, whom they nickname "Chinky". Laura at times expresses such remarks as well, although she comes across as more Innocently Insensitive than anything else, possibly as a consequence of her less well-off upbringing and/or peer pressure.
- Dreadful Musician: When one of the girls, Lilith, is asked to sing a song she'd recently learned, she delivers a badly off-key performance.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Laura Tweedle Rambotham. Right from the start, the other girls have a field day taking the piss out of said middle name, often by calling Laura insulting nicknames such as "Tweedledum".
- Epic Fail: When asked to recite a poem by her teachers, Laura's delivery is utterly ruined by her terrible French pronunciation.
- The Gay '90s: The film is set in Melbourne in the 1890s, during the reign of Queen Victoria.
- Homoerotic Subtext: Between Laura and her music teacher Evelyn. In the novel it's merely subtext, but the film makes it more explicit that the two are in a relationship.
- Hot for Preacher: During her second year, Laura convinces the other girls that she is in a relationship with the school's minister Rev. Shepherd. While some of them fall for it, others are suspicious, believing that the Reverend, who is already married, would never put his reputation on the line by carrying out an affair with a teenage student. Once the truth is revealed, the girls chew out Laura for besmirching his good name by spreading such rumours.
- No Communities Were Harmed: The boarding school is heavily based on the real-life Methodist Ladies' College in Melbourne.
- Penny Among Diamonds: Laura comes from a simple working-class background, in sharp contrast to her fellow students. This causes a great deal of friction between her and the other girls.
- Public Domain Soundtrack: The film's score is comprised primarily of various piano works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Sigismond Thalberg.
- Put on a Bus:
- Maria, once she gets engaged to an unknown man, is immediately sent packing and is never seen again.
- When Evelyn's parents return from a teaching assignment in Europe, she is forced to depart, leaving Laura devastated.
- Rich Bitch: Most of the girls come from rich families, and aren't exactly the most pleasant people to be around, especially if you aren't from the same social stratum as them.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: At the end of the film, Laura throws away her hat and gloves to express her relief at finally being free from stuffy, confining environment of the boarding school.
- Spoiler Cover: The poster spoils the scene at the end where Laura celebrates her relief at finally being rid of boarding school by tossing off her hat and gloves and running across a nearby parkland to freedom.
- Stern Teacher: Mrs. Gurley is a quintessential example. The first thing she does is lay down the rules of the school, which she expects Naïve Newcomer Laura to uphold to the letter. Later, she chastises Laura for playing pieces by Beethoven or Thalberg on the piano instead of the kind of music that she's expected to play
- Sticky Fingers: Annie, one of Laura's few genuine friends who doesn't look down on her for being less well-off, has a habit of stealing items from the school staff, particularly money and jewelry. Once they find out, she is immediately expelled.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Laura becomes infatuated with her music teacher Evelyn, and is devastated when she leaves.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: As the film progresses, the other girls mellow out a bit and their interactions with Laura become a bit less strained, although they still give her a lot of heat for her working-class background.
