Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter (1945) starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey. Directed by David Lean. Two ordinary people -- a man and a woman (Johnson, Howard), both married to others -- meet by chance at a railway stopover. Over the course of a few weeks, they fall hopelessly, desperately in love with each other. But the movie, told from Johnson's  point of view, shows that she has a kind and loving husband and two adored children at home. She never meant to fall in love with someone else, it just happened. The love affair between Johnson and Howard is never consummated, and they eventually come to their senses and give up their affair. One gets the feeling that Howard wants it to continue more than Johnson does, but he does the noble thing and takes a job in South Africa, which will keep them apart and prevent them from doing anything foolish. This is a small, sad movie with an inevitable ending -- but one which, in 1945, must have titillated audiences no end. It's a British production, which may account for some of its reserve. The film makes excellent use of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, which weaves throughout the action. Really a perfect little movie, in its own way. (English subtitles are provided for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: A-