Great romantic classic!

Brief Encounter was made at a dark time (towards the end of WWII in England) and I would've thought that it would have been a risky project back then but obviously not. The war didn't stop them from creating a fine film that is still classed as one of the best romantic films of all time. I suppose adultery teaches the audience of this film that just how easily you can fall in love with someone else despite being married. I mean, no the film isn't very long but it certainly is very gripping from start to finish. You are there with Laura and Alec even before they met.



Middle-class housewife Laura meets Dr. Alec Harvey when she gets grit in the eye at the railway buffet, who skilfully removes the dirt in question only to fill her heart with longing and hope. Gradually they fall in love which culminated in little more than a kiss, though they know that their love, in a middle-class England of strict sensibilities, is impossible. Trevor Howard's performance as Dr. Alec Harvey was good but one problem I do have is that Harvey is meant to be a charming man who would sweep Laura off her feet but I just don't think that Howard did that enough. He felt more like a stalker. Celia Johnson was awesome as Laura! I would say it is one of the best leading female roles of the old generations. I mean, what Laura did was really bad. I thought despite falling in love with Alec 'instantly' when she has already got a respectful and loving husband with a good child. Alec was just as bad cheating on his wife too.


Even though Brief Encounter was released over 10 years before The Bridge On The River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia and I have seen those before this film, I just went into Brief Encounter not knowing what to expect. Lean had obviously proved himself as a great director of epic adventure films but Brief Encounter shows that he is a great director of romantic films too. David Lean has always been and always will be one of the directors who have been named as one of the best British film directors of all time (same with Hitchcock, Boyle and Nolan). Anyhow, his work on Brief Encounter was quite extraordinary to me after seeing The Bridge On The River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia before it but it was nevertheless excellent.


Overall, Brief Encounter is a brilliant romantic drama that is one of the best films of the 1940s. Perhaps not as much of a breakthrough in Lean's career as The Bridge On The River Kwai but still one never to be forgotten and one that Lean should have been proud of!

9/10