Written by: Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean, Ronald Neame
Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond
Rating: [4/5]
Acts of infidelity rightfully receive condemnation for the obvious reasons of them symbolizing a betrayal of their partner, especially when married. Not only is there an agreement, but vows are made to remain faithful. Therefore, any film that tries to make us yearn for two married individuals to come together outside of their marital relationships has a tough task ahead of it. Brief Encounter manages to not only make you excuse the infidelity on display but also, after a while, make you actively root for it.
Every week, Laura (Celia Johnson) visits Milford to do some shopping and catch a movie. She gets there by train, and on one of her trips, she meets a doctor named Alec (Trevor Howard). Their initial pleasantries transform into loving exchanges that tempt them towards each other despite the fact they are both married with a family back home.
As a happily married man, for a film that seeks for the audience to root for two individuals cheating on their spouse, it means it’s got a special sauce, and that’s what we have here in Brief Encounter. A film that allows a beautiful meeting between two individuals to blossom into something so achingly beautiful that it will end in tragedy one way or another. These two know that if they pursue their relationship beyond these flirtations and do something serious, it will be detrimental to their families. On the other hand, the connection they build with each other will guarantee that breaking it off will leave them missing for something they wish they could have with each other. A heartbreaking proposition for them, but by the end a decision needs to get made.
Their initial meeting place serves as a hub where individuals enter and leave for various destinations, making it a place ripe for meeting a stranger. It enforces the idea of them meeting by chance and a sense of destiny that builds between them, which only makes it a further shame that they met each other in a stage of life where they are already married with children. It makes them think what life would have looked like if they found each other during a different stage of their lives. Additionally, it makes me think of the happenstance of my wife and me choosing to attend the same college and finding each other at 18 years old. To think of all of the little decisions that could have changed where we may have met in a different stage in life, just like Laura and Alec have.
We easily fall for these two as a couple because of the electric chemistry between the pair. The conversations they hold and the way they look at each other create a reverberating passion that could only go so far in the 1940s. Thankfully this is a British production, as I can see no way this would have survived Hays Code scrutiny for even implying we should root for infidelity to transpire. Even with the deeply romantic components of the narrative, there’s a level of discretion required for these characters. Although a train station has a hustle and bustle allowing for strangers to surround the characters, the off-chance someone either of them knows seeing their flirtations creates a healthy fear of them potentially being caught in these indiscretions. It adds a somewhat thrilling sprinkle to the story, mostly focusing on the lovely connection between the pair. The thrilling element is certainly what draws some to infidelity in the first place.
With the romance and the sprinkle of thrill, Brief Encounter also has some humor injected into it as well. We see this mostly with the staff who work at the train station. Just as our lovely central pair have their secret love, so do some of the workers who in the background have their flirtations and illicit expressions of attraction for each other. All of this gets presented in a humorous manner, which provides a different counterweight to the main story playing out before them. An injection the film did not necessarily need but ultimately sits as a positive for the overall enjoyment it provides.
Truly exhilarating and achingly beautiful, through the direction of David Lean and the beautiful acting work by Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter has me rooting for cheaters. A phrase I never thought I could utter. However, through all of the elements mentioned previously and the beautiful screenplay anchoring this film, it creates something alluring and heartbreaking in equal measure. At under 90 minutes, this film gets in and out with its story as it wastes no time and adds no necessary fluff. It is filled with all of the love one could want displayed on screen in a romance but also displaying the horrid bad luck of improper timing in meeting the love of your life.
