Brief Encounter

David Lean's 1945 film Brief Encounter proves, again, to be a real masterpiece. The cinematography is clever without being cute; the intensity of the projection of Laura's subjectivity is accomplished smoothly and wonderfully with her narration and the overlay of images of her back as she reflects upon the unfolding scene, etc. The music is beautiful. The romance is palpable. The Englishness is ridiculous(ly realistic). We speculated on Celia Johnson's bird-like appearance, and the likelihood that she mainly performed in comedies or rarely at all - which seems to be, in fact, the case, according to the IMDb. Trevor Howard is amazingly gorgeous and suave. 

On this second viewing, I'm moved to reconsider my earlier interpretation of the film as a pure romance, heart-rending and sweet. The audience laughed at loud during the early moments of the film, which were indeed funny, though I kept thinking, "Can't they see that her heart is breaking?!" Their romance is indeed a bit banal and ridiculous - they "accomplish" so little, and her own fears that it was nothing, reflected in the title, seem indeed to be true. They are simply bored suburbanites in the midst of their routine who add the attraction of a whirlwind, illicit love affair to that same routine, with little change. Which isn't to discount the reality and passion of their love; the truth remains that in those days, saying "I love you" came before sex, quite the contrary today.