Classic Movies on Sky Arts Series 2 Episode 1- The Story of - Brief Encounter

 

Hurrah, the gang's back together for a new series of Classic Movies starting with Brief Encounter. Ian Nathan, Christina Newland, Stephen Armstrong and Neil Norman give their views on this great film. Written in 1936 by Noel Coward but set in the late 30's, the writer formed a huge partnership with director David Lean to make a series of classic British movies. 

Ian Nathan takes us to Carnforth Station, now a heritage centre in Lancashire, that in the film stood in for a suburban London stop. Here he tells us of two ordinary people, but definitely middle class, who meet by chance in the station buffet. And only because Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) gets smuts in her eye on the platform and Trevor Howard is the doctor (Alec Harvey who attends to her. We see this classic scene all the way through. These are not young people, they have children growing up, but strike up this friendship. Neil Norman says it's "the truth of these performances" that sets it apart. Especially that from Celia Johnson that is "unmatched in British cinema".

Stephen Armstrong describes the background of the film in World War 2. He also likes the fact that these are two ordinary people "being part of the movie". He goes on to tell us about the director David Lean (see my post 2nd April 2020) who started a an editor. When Coward pitched him the story, Lean was not impressed, but found it worked when he turned it around to put the ending first, and showing the story from Laura's perspective as she narrates from her memory.

Neil Norman takes over to talk about what was once a Noel Coward twenty minute play called Still Life , set in a station café and how most of the dialogue from that play finds it's way into the film. Ian Nathan shows us how they shared that first table and how a random encounter turns into deliberate meetings. Apparently Celia Johnson hated making films, but here her face shows all the emotion in close up. So much of the film studies her face and her eyes and we are shown the visible moment when, listening to him, she falls in love.  Christina thinks she "holds the film together". 

At the time, Trevor Howard was not that well known. He takes her to the cinema to see the film Flame of Passion. Ian Nathan adds it's about "the madness of falling in love" but more so because of their ages. There is also that clever comparison with the working class porter played by Stanley Holloway and the café  worker Myrtle Bagot.  Neil Norman like the cinematography by Robert Krasker with so much filmed at night. And the music by Rachmaninov's Concerto No 2. The film also connected with audiences in America and all over the world. It was nominated for a number of Oscars. Christina added something about it being "melancholy" while  Ian Nathan concluded  "it was years ahead of it's time", that it made David Lean famous and how it became an "epic of the human heart".