This film was a very heavy experience to say the least. It has a lot of similarities with "The Browning Version". A very nobody teacher who no one respects. A guy who he never stands up for himself. A guy who's wife thinks very little of him. He's a fly on the wall.
This is a good film. It showcases a few common flaws of society very well. The little guy in real life seems to never win. He always gets trampled on. The meek don't inherit the earth. Olivier plays a very passive teacher who refused service in WWII and the few who know, don't respect him. His wife complains incessantly about how her life could have been better. He doesn't do enough for her and such. He never fights or swears. She hates that he doesn't hit her. She thinks this would show some courage and a little affection. The problem is, he's just a nice passive guy who means no harm to anyone. He's a good teacher and the few students that like him know he's a good guy.
Enter the one student who takes more of a fancy to him. Shirley sees in him a kindly man who can teach her more. She has nothing in common with her family. In Mr. Weir she's sees a confidant and eventually, someone she loves. With this, the stage is set for her to finally approach him and tell him what she feels for him. She's 15 and that's a no-no and he tells her so. He still loves his wife (even though she doesn't respect him) and he tells her...this is something you will regret if it were to happen. Shirley doesn't take this too well. She feels spurned and rebels afterwards. A few days later a policeman arrives to question him. Shirley has told them the exact opposite of what happened and he gets tried for indecency. In the end she finally tells the truth(her mother puts her up to bringing the false charges) and he gets vindicated.
Mr. Weir is a classic example of nice guys never win. In real life. Here's the layout. He's a good teacher who's wife doesn't respect him cause he's a passive guy. She wants a guy with fire and a little drama. He has neither....but she marries him anyhow. All she does is complain. He spurns a student in a very gentle way as to not hurt her feelings and he gets dragged into court over something he didn't do. How many news stories from the past has there been when a teacher gets charges or an adult in general over just the words of someone. Nowadays it's much simpler to prove this scenario with electronics and medical tests but can you imagine how many people have been falsely accused because of scorn or revenge? The final blow, or slight blow, is that the school he works at head guy decides since the bad publicity doesn't want him working there. I mean this guy did get acquitted and proved the charges false. He can't dismiss him for legal reasons but in a subtle way mentions it might be a good idea if he were to teach somewhere else. He refuses and very wisely mentions the law. He can't make him leave.
In the end, his wife decides she's had enough of his passive ways and decides she wants to leave him. He does nothing wrong and she wants to leave. He comes up with a way to keep her. He tells her the charges the girl brought were true even though they weren't. She's sees in him a spark of "badness' I guess and decides she wants to stay. Can you believe this?
This just comes down to nice guys never win...plain and simple. Watch this film and see what I mean. You can do all, what's considered, the right things in life and still your left with nothing. What a world we live in.
This is a good film. It showcases a few common flaws of society very well. The little guy in real life seems to never win. He always gets trampled on. The meek don't inherit the earth. Olivier plays a very passive teacher who refused service in WWII and the few who know, don't respect him. His wife complains incessantly about how her life could have been better. He doesn't do enough for her and such. He never fights or swears. She hates that he doesn't hit her. She thinks this would show some courage and a little affection. The problem is, he's just a nice passive guy who means no harm to anyone. He's a good teacher and the few students that like him know he's a good guy.
Enter the one student who takes more of a fancy to him. Shirley sees in him a kindly man who can teach her more. She has nothing in common with her family. In Mr. Weir she's sees a confidant and eventually, someone she loves. With this, the stage is set for her to finally approach him and tell him what she feels for him. She's 15 and that's a no-no and he tells her so. He still loves his wife (even though she doesn't respect him) and he tells her...this is something you will regret if it were to happen. Shirley doesn't take this too well. She feels spurned and rebels afterwards. A few days later a policeman arrives to question him. Shirley has told them the exact opposite of what happened and he gets tried for indecency. In the end she finally tells the truth(her mother puts her up to bringing the false charges) and he gets vindicated.
Mr. Weir is a classic example of nice guys never win. In real life. Here's the layout. He's a good teacher who's wife doesn't respect him cause he's a passive guy. She wants a guy with fire and a little drama. He has neither....but she marries him anyhow. All she does is complain. He spurns a student in a very gentle way as to not hurt her feelings and he gets dragged into court over something he didn't do. How many news stories from the past has there been when a teacher gets charges or an adult in general over just the words of someone. Nowadays it's much simpler to prove this scenario with electronics and medical tests but can you imagine how many people have been falsely accused because of scorn or revenge? The final blow, or slight blow, is that the school he works at head guy decides since the bad publicity doesn't want him working there. I mean this guy did get acquitted and proved the charges false. He can't dismiss him for legal reasons but in a subtle way mentions it might be a good idea if he were to teach somewhere else. He refuses and very wisely mentions the law. He can't make him leave.
In the end, his wife decides she's had enough of his passive ways and decides she wants to leave him. He does nothing wrong and she wants to leave. He comes up with a way to keep her. He tells her the charges the girl brought were true even though they weren't. She's sees in him a spark of "badness' I guess and decides she wants to stay. Can you believe this?
This just comes down to nice guys never win...plain and simple. Watch this film and see what I mean. You can do all, what's considered, the right things in life and still your left with nothing. What a world we live in.