Brief Encounter. 1945. Directed by David Lean.

(9/23/99)

One of the best films I've seen in a very long time. Totally absorbing from beginning to end. A beautiful picture in black-and-white.

Celia Johnson was marvellous. She had quite a burden in carrying the film on her shoulders, but she pulled it off. I was interested in her all the way. And there was such chemistry between her and Trevor Howard. That's what really made it work.

Their relationship was so damn healthy, and yet it caused such pain and shame. My big question was: What the hell was wrong with these two people getting together? If they were going to go home to their spouses, where was the harm? There wasn't, and in other cultures, I think, this sort of thing is more accepted. At least I believe so.

People have a right in their lives for romance and adventure and excitement. Now, one way is to "work" on the relationship. But here we have another. It was the expectations of the society that made it "wrong" and shameful.

Why are we put in positions that pursuing our own happiness causes pain to other people? Well, times have changed. Some things are better, some things worse.

When the man wanted to take the woman to someone's room I had a sense that he was taking advantage of her, when this was really a mutual problem. Was it just a double standard that made me feel this way? I thought so at first, but upon reflection I think that in part it was because the story was actually told through the woman's eyes. We never see enough of him to really see how this is affecting his life. So we are not allowed to really sympathize with him.
The husband seemed pretty vapid throughout the film, making it understandable why Laura would be open to an affair. But he comes alive in the final moments and seems nice and loving. That's a very subtle shift of perspective. I actually was left with the fact that Laura's pain might soon fade. The doctor's pain might last much longer, as males are supposed to be more affected by the breakup of a relationship.