Brief Encounter is another foreign, small ensemble, arty Criterion Collection selection that I went into hoping for something interesting and new. Unfortunately, I have been less-than-enthralled with the CC films that I have watched so far (none of the previous three earned scores higher than a 6.5), but nonetheless, I went into the movie high expectations. I enjoy movies with just a small cast focusing on one particular plot element, and just absolutely zeroing in on the emotions and consequences associated with it.
From this film, I got exactly what I'd hoped for. I'm not saying that it's going to blow anyone away, but from the two leads, Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, we get very good acting to complement a simple plot: Johnson is a normal housewife who does little that is interesting (Thursday is her "shopping day" and it is clear early on that this seems to be one of the only things she has to herself) and doesn't really seem to want (or know of) anything else, until she meets a (reasonably handsome) doctor who takes an interest in her (and, eventually, vice versa).
The thing I like about this film is the way that Johnson is the P.O.V. Howard's story is far less interesting, and Johnson is the one who is married, so we can see all the conflicts inherent in the situation at that point. The two do things together, he lavishes attention on her, and eventually she tells him she's married, but that doesn't necessarily mean they stop seeing one another. Call it "Same Time, Next Week" for a period of time prior to the film's inevitable resolution.
It's not a terribly long film, nor is it what I would call exciting, but the acting and pacing are worth seeing, and the emotional chords it strikes are so often glossed over or overwrought in so many movies that try this formula and fail.
Score: 8.5/10
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