Brief Encounter (1945)

 David Lean's "Brief Encounter"

When I first started watching David Lean's 1945 British film "Brief Encounter," I figured that I knew what I was in for. After all, the plot of the movie seems commonplace in all art: forbidden love. I felt myself becoming restless throughout the opening of the film, feeling as though I could already predict the story. After all, we are shown the ending first. Everything else is easy to figure. A woman meets a man during a brief encounter at a train station. The two continue to see each other until eventually falling in love. Their love is doomed, however, as both are in committed relationships and not wanting to destroy the lives they've built. There it is. The entire plot of the film is assumed right from the get go. And you know what? As the film unfolded, the plot that I expected is exactly the plot I got. Normally, already knowing the entire plot of the film would completely render it boring and unwatchable. However, despite all of this, the film isn't about what is to be unexpected. Rather, you already know what happens and what's to come and despite all of that, you still are swept away in this tragic romance anyway (just as the characters are). 

The film was adapted from the 1936 play "Still Life" by Noel Coward. Both the play and the film seem to only work in the time they were made. A woman having romantic feelings for another man and sneaking around behind her husband's back? Such things were too scandalous. Which is why the tension and drama work so well. What works even more, especially for the time, is our protagonist's moral dilemma and guilt over her actions. These values of loyalty and fidelity were values that were widely held at the time, although not always observed. After all, Edward VIII had to abdicate the throne because of his relationship with a married woman. These are values our protagonist Laura tries desperately to cling on and, in the end, ends up staying with her husband because of it. Because of this, the romantic nature of the film is the brief respite from these values with the full knowledge that it is only a respite and not a total disintegration of morality. We know at the end of the film that Laura stays. After all, we're shown that right off the bat. This allows the viewer to have their cake and eat it too: to have a (sexless) romance and to stay loyal in the end. This element of the film would not work for today's audience. 

Despite 'having the cake and eating it too,' my favorite scenes of the film are the very end simply because you can feel the palpable sense of romantic tragedy. We are shown these scenes in the beginning of the film. However, as we gain context for them throughout the film, they become so much more heighted when we are shown them again in the end. The loss that Laura feels is utterly depressing. Perhaps the greatest shot(s) in the entire film are when Laura's sadness begins to really set in and Lean's camera suddenly begins to dramatically tilt. I began to feel the same sense of panic as Laura, as she suddenly runs out to jump in front of a train (to then stop herself). 

"Brief Encounter" remains a classic staple of British cinema. It was made while the war was still taking place and was really able to capture some sense of melancholy and fantasy that the British population was feeling at the end of the war. This was especially true for women, whom had far greater sexual and economic freedom due to the men being away for so long. It was especially a great film for those who could outsource their sadness and depression. 

Overall, "Brief Encounter" was a very surprising experience for me. The gift I was granted in the form of this film was far more than I bargained for. I was swept away in this tragic romance and grief-stricken when the inevitable end had to come. Despite being made for 1940s audiences, I still resonated with me 80 years later.