This is my all-time favourite British film. It is a story of the heartbreak and despair caused when two strangers are brought together by chance and embark on a doomed relationship. Brief Encounter superbly captures the mundanity of suburban middle-class life and yet somehow manages to create more emotional intensity than any other romantic film I have seen. The backdrop of dullness and every-day tedium only seems to enhance the violent and overpowering passions of the two central characters. Lean's subtle direction and the use of black-and-white cinematography are impressive and preferable to his work in later overblown epics whilst Rachmanioff's Second Piano Concerto fits the story perfectly. Trevor Howard is also faultless in his film debut but it's Celia Johnson's understated performance as the tragic Laura that lives in the memory. Her portrayal of the trapped housewife is without equal in modern cinema. This is a film full of soul and emotion and gets better with every viewing.
Review of Brief Encounter
