banapaulo Review of Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter (1945)

Dated? Obviously, but that's not the reason I don't like it...

[5/10 · 7 November 2005]

Two reasons I don't like this film: The two main characters are two of the most boring people imaginable: frankly, they deserve each other. Secondly, the dialogue is among the most banal I have ever heard. This has little to do with the time it was made. Didn't they have subtlety in 1945? Implied meaning? Good God woman, you don't have to tell us you sat down, we can see it on the screen. I think the direction is actually very good: excellent use of limited settings, some good lighting and camera angles. But the dialogue. Oh God. "I love you, with all my heart and soul", the good doctor says. "I wish I was dead", Laura sensitively replies. I was in audience with my Film colleagues and we just cracked up. Is this kind of dialogue "quaint" or "British" or "typical of the era it came from" or just plain bad? I'll go with the latter. I don't think there's much problem with the plot really, and I like the way it was told. But Celia Johnson was neither attractive (not her fault) or interesting (her fault) in anyway. She always had a self-pitying look on her face, and this was reflected in her dialogue. As someone else said, she didn't seem to care so much for her family, but more about personal risk in having an affair. Her decision is made for her in the end, which left me feeling that she was lumbered with a family that deserved her more than she deserved them. You know she would of carried on seeing the bloke if she could. So, to summarise, poor acting and poor dialogue. They're usually quite important to a film. David Lean's direction was fine, but I really couldn't give a toss about such silly, selfish and dull characters. The thought that this is considered one of the all-time great tearjerkers is enough to draw one from me, that it's considered one of the best British films ever made is downright depressing.