Dir. David Lean, 1945 , UK, 107 minutes
Cast: Trevor Howard, Celia Johnson, Stanley Holloway
Review by Daniel Laverick
Produced by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter is a film that is fondly remembered by all. Set in wartime Britain, the film follows the relationship between Laura (Celia Johnson) and a doctor called Alec (played by Trevor Howard). After a chance encounter in a train station café, the two married protagonists began a friendship that soon develops into an intense love for one another. Their continued meetings build up their mutual passion as they attempt to exert control over their spiralling emotions. The guilt associated with her illicit yet unconsummated affair infringes on Laura’s home life as she struggles to cope with the shame associated with her feelings.
The films narrative is predominantly based on the experiences of Laura. Her voice over narrates the romantic love story from its beginning to its ultimately tragic end. Brief Encounter is terrifically British in all of its aspects. From the clipped BBC English of its characters (“Oh darling really, whatever is the matter with you?”, “You really are a lovely little creature!”) to the social constraints and class values that seemed to dominate the lives of Britons at the time. Although Laura and Alec confess their love for one another, they decide not to elope, sacrificing their feelings of desire. The reasons for this are two fold and can be attributed to the social conditions at the time of its production and the British class system.
Middle class values are at the centre of Brief Encounter and they dictate the actions of the overtly middle class characters. A comparison within the film itself is the somewhat playful and saucy relationship between the owner of the train station café and the porter. The porter constantly makes playful, flirty comments towards the café manageress in public and even gives her a cheeky pat on the behind. It is not clear if either of them are married and there is no particular reason to think that they are. What is significant is their uninhibited desire for one another and their unabashed public flirting. Although Laura has every reason to not show any public affection for her new love for fear of being caught by an acquaintance, she nevertheless regards her actions as those of a harlot. Would she behave differently if she were working class like the café owner? It’s difficult to say without generalising the actions of such a vast array of people but her behaviour is directly linked to her middle class values and social status. In one poignant and tearful scene Laura is struggling with her guilt and passionately remarks that “self respect and decency matter”, knowing that an illicit affair would make her an outcast in her own world.
Brief Encounter was made towards the end of the Second World War and followed the familiar narrative theme of ‘self sacrifice for the good of others’ that littered British productions at the time. The ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude of both Laura and Alec who put their feelings aside in order to save their respective families from the pain that their affair would cause, exemplifies the trend in British films during the turbulent social events of the time. Other films followed suit, portraying British people as self-sacrificing and unselfish, doing what is good for the many rather than the individual.
The acting performances of the entire cast are superb. Celia Johnson in particular conveys her characters guilt, shame and panic in such a convincing manner that, as a watching spectator, you truly feel for her suffering. Her abject sadness when she says farewell to the man she loves is heart rendering, out doing a lot of modern romantic films in the ‘tear jerking’ department. Laura’s friend Dolly is another memorable character, a vile gossip who chatters away at Laura, oblivious to her mental anguish and her need for a moment alone.
Brief Encounter is eligible for the overused title of ‘British classic’. Great performances, superb use of emotive and soaring music and a glimpse into a Britain that many people yearn for a return of. It’s also a perfect film to re-release for Valentine’s Day and will no doubt gain a new generation of fans who will be enamoured by it’s charm and sincerity.
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