Romancefest 2011: Brief Encounter

Here’s another flick from overseas, BRIEF ENCOUNTER, this time from England. Directed by David Lean, director of the classic LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, a personal favorite of mine, BRIEF ENCOUNTER is probably the most mature approach to romance I’ve seen all month.

This is the story of a middle class housewife (Celia Johnson) who meets a handsome doctor (Trevor Howard) during her weekly train visits to town. She usually shops, eats, and goes to the movies alone, but after a chance encounter, the two characters grow steadily closer and it becomes clear that a romance is developing. This romance is only ever pursued in weekly episodes, each one more involved than the last.

The interesting way the story is told is also the only real weakness of the film – the housewife tells the story in a voice over, as she imagines confessing the escalating affair to her nice but aloof husband (Cyril Raymond). This is an interesting device, but as the action unfolded, I noticed a couple scenes where the voice over seemed a little intrusive. There were two or three intense sequences I watched wondering what it would be like without the narration. Of course, we’ll never know, but I think playing up the ambiguity in a few of these scenes would have helped the film.

Still, I’m nitpicking – the movie’s basically perfect. Like all of Lean’s films, it is beautifully shot and well-acted. The two leads do a lot with what little there is on the page, but that’s no complaint about the Noel Coward screenplay, which expertly avoids being over-written.

Why did this film seem so mature to me, compared to the others? I guess because it puts some sense of responsibility over personal gratification. Notions of love and romance can be so selfish, sometimes. That’s all right, to an extent – I mean, people should pursue their happiness to a reasonable degree. But, it’s refreshing to see a film, kind of like CASABLANCA, where characters put larger issues ahead of their personal wants and needs.

Granted, part of the point of the story is to show the drawbacks of a repressed society following strict rules of right and wrong. But let’s be honest – if the leads in this film gave in to their desires and ended up together, how long would it last? Would the romance end the second they got out of bed? Would it be worth it?

Or, conversely, were the original decisions that eventually led to this dilemma worth it in the first place?