Day 75: Brief Encounter (1945)

“Brief Encounter,” directed by David Lean and written by Noel Coward, is a beautifully tragic film that pushed the world into discussing a subject matter it had, till then, hid in the shadows of taboo- infidelity. Though today such a matter is nonchalantly witnessed in a vast majority of films, back in 1945 such a topic was certainly left unspoken until the likes of Coward brought it to the culture’s conscience with his one-act play “Still Life,” which he then adapted into “Brief Encounter.” Though such a controversial topic could have been used for simple shock value, Coward and Lean created a film more interested in discussing the guilt and moral turmoil that can come with the temptation of “true love.”

In the film, Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) is a suburban housewife whose life revolves around her dull but affectionate marriage. Though her husband is kind, he is oblivious to Laura’s needs and the only independence she finds comes in from a weekly shopping trip to the town of Milford, where she goes to the cinema by herself and then eats at the train station’s cafe. But one day, as Laura gets a bit of dust in her eye from a passing train, Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), a married consulting doctor in the city, helps brush it out and the two develop a friendship based on their mutual loneliness.

Though, at first, their interactions are innocent and a means to past the time, Laura and Alec soon realize how much they both have in common and a temptation grows with each of their weekly encounters. Soon they kiss and, knowing that a true affair will cost them everything, these forbidden lovers must decide if they can handle the guilt created from their mutual love or if it is all just too much for two people to bare.

With “Brief Encounter,” Lean and Coward developed a film that concerned itself with, above everything else, the moral and societal implications of infidelity and, by doing so, set itself apart from two very distinct lifestyles. When released, “Brief Encounter” was certainly breaking the silence about a topic many had dealt with but few had discussed publicly and the realism found in the actor’s performances were far from the typical film acting fair. These characters seemed genuine and the world they lived in did not stop for musical numbers like so much on the silver screen of that era. Because of this, the film found itself praised by audiences and appreciated for its moral conviction.

But of course, with anything that is popular with a generation, the next may found it out of step and archaic with the current times. By the 1960′s, when the idea of free love was in the air and the philandering James Bonds of cinema were making their way from girl to girl, “Brief Encounter” was deemed irrelevant in a world mixed up in sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Because of the culture shift, the film found itself unfavored by many and it wasn’t till the 1990′s that the film once again resinated with the more conservative culture climate and was universally acclaimed as a true classic.

Now considered one of the greatest films to ever come out of Britain, “Brief Encounter” brings a rich level of pathos and drama to the screen by simply dealing with the guilt and moral turmoil found in all of us- an emotional gold mine that, to this day, Hollywood rarely digs into.

To learn more about “Brief Encounter,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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