Brief Encounter (1945)
Genre: Romance / Drama
Duration: 87 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: David Lean
Stars: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard and Stanley Holloway
IMDb score:
8,0 (48.574)
Releasedate: 24 November 1945
Brief Encounter plot
"A story of the most precious moments in woman's life!"
The doctor Alec is happily married and a father. The housewife Laura has two children and is happily married. Both meet at a station and have a chat. Because they notice that they have a lot in common, they see each other every Thursday at the station for a short meeting. However, those encounters develop into a passionate infatuation. But they are both happily married...
Actors and actresses
Laura Jesson
Dr. Alec Harvey
Albert Godby
Myrtle Bagot
Fred Jesson
Dolly Messiter
Mary Norton
Tea Room Assistant Beryl Walters
Policeman at War Memorial (uncredited)
Waiter at the Royal (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
De filosoof
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- 2519 messages
- 1725 votes
It's easy to understand why this movie is considered a classic: I can't remember a movie that so realistically portrays the pain and desperation of an (impossible) crush. The film – with cheerful flirtations on the one hand, and the dull, but stable married life and the fierce crush in the middle of it on the other – is a study of and a monument to love. A bit like The Lost Weekend (1945) - MovieMeter.nl from the same year is the monument to alcohol addiction, where it is striking that there is little difference between a crush and an addiction: they plunge you into the abyss, make you lie and cheat, you feel guilty and intensely sad but you cannot resist it. The film also has only good dialogues and one-liners and has a moving ending.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Dievegge
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- 3190 messages
- 8261 votes
This is a rare example of a voiceover that works well. Laura imagines that she confesses everything to her husband and the rest is shown in flashbacks. You can tell from the prosody of Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard that they have a solid theater background. Noel Coward's language is inspired. It contains memorable sentences: "There should be a society for the prevention of cruelty against musical instruments." There is a clear distinction between the refined English of the main middle-class characters and the working-class side characters. Stanley Holloway provides the comic relief.
Adultery was a big taboo at the time. In the end, it's not so much society that makes love impossible, but her own guilt for lying to her husband. They don't even actually commit adultery, although they did in the one-act play. Laura has a good but boring husband; she longs for something more. Finally, she makes the "right" choice, although the sadness of the broken bond between two people lingers.
Colors were not available to David Lean, so he emphasized light and dark. Steam from the train, coffee vapor, cigarette smoke, open fire and rain create a foggy atmosphere. When Laura sees her own reflection, she engages in self-reflection. Shortly before the end, her vertigo is displayed with a zoom and a skewed camera angle. Rachmaninov's romantic music expresses desire and passion.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Don Homer
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- 510 messages
- 1297 votes
It's awfully easy to lie when you know that you're trusted implicitly. So very easy, and so very degrading.
Brief Encounter (1945) is a beautifully shot drama by David Lean (my first film of his). It is about a married woman who falls in love with a married man and he with her. The film gives an interesting picture of the time.
The story is simple and nothing is added (I thought for a moment towards the end that the man was in a homosexual relationship, but that turned out to be a colleague). The film is strong because of the original narrative perspective ( by the woman herself). So we see and hear her from the normal viewer's perspective, but also as a narrator. Hereby she shares all her thoughts and feelings to the viewer. This gives the simple story a lot of psychological depth.
Rachmaninov's beautiful piano concerto (soundtrack) was striking and emphasizes the melancholy of the film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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