Brief Encounter

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Summary: Encounter Brief Encounter
Review: 1946's Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean (of Doctor Zhivago fame, which he would later direct in 1965) is a great film full of subtlety, romance and melancholia. Shot in black and white, this film is almost a signature of the 40's, as was the more popular and successful Casablanca. Without mention of World War II, this film deals with internal struggles of the heart. Cecila Johnson stars as the romantic heroine, a married woman and Trevor Howard the love interest, a married doctor. Though it's apparent they are disenchanted with their marriages and they are in love with each other, they never fully give in to a passionate affair. It's a romance that is mostly feelings and emotions, furtive glances, sighs, talk and regular meetings that are brief in a train station.

David Lean is experimenting with many techniques, particularily intimate angles and interior monologue. No film can ever top his Doctor Zhivago, but this film is at least second best and good for its time in 1946. There is a particularly impressive scene in which the lovers are interrupted and Celia Johnson's character must take a train trip with a very chatty, annoying woman friend. The older woman chatters away and we tap into Celia's thoughts. "I wish she would stop talking.. I wish she were dead" (I thought this was hilarious because we are wishing the same thing by that point)....but then she reprimands herself and comes to the conclusion, after a tiring day, that life does not last, that nothing really lasts forever, neither happiness nor despair. It's very poignant. Another reason besides the great acting and the story itself is the fact that Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, regarded as his finest, is played in this film. The dramatic, romantic storm that is the first movement, followed by a melancholy adagio, is very effective for this type of film.

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Summary: Simply one of the best films ever made. Beautiful.
Review: Brief Encounter is a classic film that turns one into a film lover. Based on a play by Noel Coward, and directed by David Lean, the pedigree of this film shows through in every respect. On face value, it's the story of a British middle-class married woman named Laura, played by Celia Johnson, who finds herself in love with a married doctor, played by Trevor Howard, during the WWII era. The story employs flashbacks and is narrated by the character Laura herself. This film hooks you from the first moment.

Beneath the romantic plot are poignant themes...the seductiveness of mischief, the absurdity of romance, redemption, loyalty, even anarchy and the break-down of Victorian value systems. There are relatively daring ideas as well, given the era in which this film was made. Adultery, passion, deception, and even suicide are dealt with, but are handled with maturity and with respect for the characters and the audience.

The performances are powerfully restrained and truthful, particularly that of Celia Johnson as the tortured almost-aldulteress (remember, this is 1940s England). The many smaller roles in the film are so carefully crafted and memorable, every detail is so vivid, I understand why my standards are high and why many modern films seem to leave me empty.

The charms of Brief Encounter also include humor, inexplicably beautiful dialogue, haunting Rachmaninoff music, and cinematography at its best. If you are an anglo-phile, you'll devour the details of a train station, the station's waiting room/snack shop, a suburban household, a pharmacy and more. And if British stiff upper lip-ping is your cup of tea, well...Brief Encounter seems to have invented it.

Although Brief Encounter is successful simply as a romance - no less than 2 hankies will do - this film is really a masterpiece to be cherished.

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Summary: A Classic of the Romantic Cinema
Review: Everyone who has loved and lost his/her object of affection will feel deeply touched by this little unforgettable movie. It's one of the earliest David Lean's work, but also very effective as "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia". Based on "Still Life", a play by Noel Cöward from the serie Tonight 8h30, the film is a flashback recalled by one character, after apparting from the love of her life

Laura (Celia Johnson) and Alec (Trevor Howard) are two married ordinary people who happens to meet by chance and fall for each other later. They meet every Thursday in Milford, she goes there for shopping and the library and he goes to replace for a doctor friend os his in the local hospital. As the love affari develops in such a peace that it is impossible not to get in the mood with them, and root for the lovers.

Lean uses many resources that he would use again in his epic films, such as the antecipation of the final result early in the opening credits. We can see Laura's and Alec's train crossing and going to different directions. After that we know we are about to watch an unfortunate love affair. I don't see it as a mistake, it made me longing to know what had led them to such an unhappy ending.

To sum up, this is one of my favourite movies. Every time I watch it I have a different response to it. Most of them are sad, and wondering how short life can be and we more and more seem not to be prepared for some tricks of faith. I mean most of the time we have either-or questions to solve, and we are not ready to give up some things in order to get the other. Like Laura: what does she choose? Either a man she loves very much but barely knows -- and she doesn't feel brave enough to stay with him -- or her husband and children? If you were on her shoes what would you choose?

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Summary: A film for grown-ups -- genuinely emotionally overwhelming.
Review: I just read the review of this DVD on dvdmg.com and can only conclude the reviewer is relatively young, and certainly not married -- not for any length of time, anyway. He says, "I could enjoy parts of the film, and I could respect the craftsmanship, but I never could develop any real interest in the storyline or the characters."

Oh my goodness, I couldn't disagree more. After intentionally waiting to see "Brief Encounter" for many years, I've finally watched it. I'm a married father in my mid-40's.

The incredibly profound affection that Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson express for each other is the most convincing portrayal I have ever seen of two people in love. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have a long way to go to convey such feelings, so powerfully. Yet the performances are, in true British fashion, reserved.

Frankly, I found its emotionalism so effective, it very nearly brought me to tears. Call it a chick flick if you like, but this is a film for every thinking adult who has ever been conflicted over their affections and devotions. I'm looking forward to watching it again -- this time with my wife!

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Summary: Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean
Review: Thirty years ago, Brief Encounter was one of the popular movies played on late night TV. Whenever it was scheduled, I looked forward to it with great anticipation. It went away, but recently I bought the VHS video, and it is everything I recall: passionate and tender, never failing to bring the tears. It is the story of Alec Harvey (played by Trevor Howard) and Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) who, over the course of seven Thursdays, fall in love. Everthing about this movie is poignant and powerful: the script (Noel Coward), the music (Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto), the locations, photography, acting: it is all there: it is all one. I play piano, love the Rachmaninoff concerto, and wonder that the music doesn't overpower the movie or that the breaking of the concerto into fragments to fit the scenes doesn't jar my ear, but it doesn't: somehow the music fits. So be warned: if you watch this video, be sure to have your hankies handy.

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Summary: A fim to treasure.
Review: This film seems so universally popular and is so highly regarded that I don't dare utter a word of criticism (I have enough negative votes already!) The story is simple and well known; Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), a happily married woman, meets Doctor Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), a happily married man, in a railway station refreshment-room when he extracts a piece of grit from her eye ("Trust me. I'm a doctor."). They arrange to meet the following Thursday and for several Thursdays after that, during which time they fall in love - though without getting as far as the bedroom.

However, this being Britain in the early forties when codes of conduct really meant something, both are unwilling to break-up their lives and hurt their partners, and so, he having been offered a job in Africa, they agree to part and never see each other again. Their last few precious moments together in the tea-room are made more heart-rending by the intrusion of a silly, garrulous friend of her's who makes it impossible for him to speak another private word to her. When, therefore, the dreaded moment comes and his train arrives his only way of saying a final good-bye is by a clasp of his hand on her shoulder. This will bring tears to your eyes. For her it feels like the end of the world, and, almost suicidally depressed, she goes home to her kind but unexciting husband and her two children to suffer the pain of his loss for the rest of her life - or so she thinks. In fact the pain will lessen and his memory will become dream-like as all our painful memories do.

The tale is cleverly told in that we are shown the end of the film at the beginning and then have the rest of it filled in in flash-back with a superbly scripted voice-over by Laura telling her story and expressing her feelings and sense of guilt. There is also a comical sub-plot involving the pretentious tea-room barmaid with a "posh" voice (Joyce Carey), and her aspiring lover, the Station-Master (Stanley Holloway).

The haunting third movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 adds immensely to the emotional content of the film and is at least partially responsible for its enduring popularity (indeed where would the film be without it?); you cannot at any time listen to the concerto without thinking of the film. With its fine script and good acting and its nostalgic black and white photography of a time gone by, it delivers a unique experience and is a film to be treasured.

And, along with so many other old films, it also brings with it another thought; the fact that these two vibrant lovers in the prime of life are both now dead makes you ponder on the sadness and transience of life and encourages you to make the most of life whilst you still have it - for "the flower that once has bloomed forever dies".

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Summary: Brief Encounter Goes the Distance
Review: This is my favorite movie in the world. I have seen it many times over the years and it never disappoints. Watching the DVD is an especially delightful experience on my 22" Apple LCD monitor because I have the opportunity to see shadow detail, characters, and all kinds of other surprise elements that were never visible in a theater or with a VCR viewed on a soft television screen. The story is beautiful, the acting wonderful, the writing brilliant. Celia Johnson will break your heart, Trevor Howard will too.
The film takes place in England in a sweet, simpler time. Love however, is never simple. Noel Coward's marvelous sceenplay, David Lean's spectacular directorial debut, the marvelous Eileen Joyce playing the Rachmaninoff score throughout. You will not be disappointed in this treasure.

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Summary: David Lean's well kept secret.
Review: When you hear the name: David Lean, one will probably think LAWRENCE, Bridge on the River Kwai, etc...never Brief Encounter. I am not saying that Lean's other films are bad...they are excellent but Brief Encounter is different. It is his best film, as far as I am concerned. I am huge film fan. I cannot usually watch movies two days in a row, but I could watch this one every day of the year. This film is perfect in every way. Noel Coward is a brilliant screenwriter and this is one of the best screenplays ever writen. This film was voted 2nd best British film ever made under The Third Man (which I also love and Trevor Howard was also in). I am shocked that this was left off of the AFI List...a film of such perfection is so rare and underrated that it is sad that this beautiful film has been viewed by so few. Sparkling, moving preformaces given by both Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. I love Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, but only the version in this film. I loacted a CD on this website with this version on it. It was done by Eileen Joyce. Search for her name under music and you should find it. Celia Johnson was very convincing and her voiceovers and facial expressions were superb. The way the start the film out at the end and she retells the story is brilliant. The editing is even perfect. This film is very realistic...it seems as if David Lean just went out and found some two average nobody's and filmed it. This isn't like Rita Hayworth and Cary Grant in some Hollywood love story. It captures the time beautifully and how people used to have higher standards & actually cared about their families, unlike the vulgar times of now..for example, look at Titanic...enough said. I love the cinematography...capturing the smokey dark train stations with high contrast black and white...it's so grand. This film has it's own atmosphere, like Casablanca. If you like Casablanca, you'll love this movie. I love ending because it is so mysterious-- After Laura relives her story in her mind, you can almost read it on her face and her husband goes over to comfort her: "What ever dream you had, it wasn't a very happy one, was it? You were a long way away. Thank you for coming back to me." He says it as if he heard the story while she was telling it, but then again we shall never know. It is almost haunting because I think about so often. This film my be brief, but my encounter with it will be forever.