Search - Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection on DVD

Purely Thought-Provoking for Even the Puritanical

JON STRICKLAND | Smithfield, NC United States | 12/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brief Encounter is an emotionally wrenching movie for the viewer who has, at one time or another, experienced personal struggles to contain desires that need not come to the forefront. Among these passions are the perpetual excitement and euphoria that one feels in a relationship to the extent that this association could develop into an extramarital affair.

Highlighting the aforementioned complexities in this highly acclaimed drama are the main characters, Laura Jesson, played by Celia Johnson, and Dr. Alec Harvey, played by Trevor Howard. Laura is portrayed as a housewife married to a man whom she loves but who seems, in many ways to her, cold and distant. Alec is a travelling doctor who is, himself, in a marriage that is not satisfying. Upon a chance encounter at a train station, Laura and Alec quickly develop an affiliation that progresses from two people who merely exchange polite greetings to virtual soul mates. Realizing that there is a magnetic attraction between them, they decide to meet every Thursday to enjoy each other's company, whether it be at the movie theater or at a private stroll in the park.

As the story proceeds, the ties that bind Laura and Alec strengthen and so do the consequential and overwhelming feelings of guilt. One can only sympathize, perhaps empathize, with Laura as she tries to come to terms with how events in her life have transpired. Experiencing heightened levels of contrition for her ever-surmounting affection for Alec, she asks herself how an ordinary woman could become, in so many words, a deceitful creature who now has so much to hide. And as this internal battle of self-condemnation flourishes, she comes to a proverbial fork in the road. She tells herself that since she is married to a good household provider, she has acquired levels of security and comfort that are higher than one could reasonably hope for in a marriage and should be entirely fulfilled. However, as she attempts to convince herself that life is complete with her husband and her children, she cannot drown out the perceived lack of romantic fulfillment in matrimony, and thus her adoration for Alec intensifies.

As the days pass, Laura must decide whether she will maintain further involvement with Alec. Though she has been overjoyed by her get-togethers with Alec and, intermittently, could convince herself that there is nothing wrong with these weekly adventures, Laura, upon each departure to head back home to her family, reflects upon her actions and subsequently acknowledges that these excursions kept secret from her husband should no longer persist.

With the transitions from one scene to the next, as masterfully laid out by David Lean, the movie is, quite arguably, a sexually charged masterpiece. Though there is neither nudity nor bed scene, there are, nonetheless, emotions laid bare to the extent that the viewer can sense the racing heartbeats and the overpowering agonies and ecstacies that simultaneously entrap these two lovers.

In sum, Brief Encounter is a series of emotional rollercoaster encounters. One moment, the communication is, essentially,"We must end this now! Let's not see each other, again!!"; the next, it is along the lines of "I want you, regardless of what God, man, or beast may think!"

Though this movie was produced back in 1945, it has, I think, a message that is for all times and for all age groups. To me, it was conveyed that when you love someone the right way, you should never take that passion for granted, or else, it will erode or be transposed into unsuitable relationships.

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