#211 Brief Encounter (Lean) at Alamo Drafthouse DTLA
This film was directed by the same filmmaker who gave us sweeping, visually stunning epics like Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago, so I came in expecting grandeur. What I got instead was fairly ordinary.
Brief Encounter (1945) leans heavily on exposition, with Laura, a reserved and introspective housewife, narrating much of the story through voiceover. Too often, it tells us what she feels rather than trusting the strength of Celia Johnson’s acting to convey it. But isn’t the first rule of effective screenwriting: show us, don’t tell us?
By today’s standards, the central affair is tame. I understand that 1940s British social norms demanded that personal desire take a backseat to marital duty. But the film could learn a thing or two from Wong Kar-wai, who perfected the restrained, unconsummated affair in In the Mood for Love. He demonstrates how longing, tension, and emotional depth can make a story riveting.
The film avoids total collapse thanks to Celia Johnson. Every emotion is etched on her face. Just watch her face in the reflection in the train window as she begins to acknowledge the desire stirring beneath her orderly life as a wife and mother. Or her character's anguish as she contemplates throwing herself under a train when Alec leaves for Africa. She’s the reason this quiet, measured story still resonates with audiences.
But ultimately, the film is all too proper, too British, and too buttoned-up for me.