BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)

LAURA: It's awfully easy to lie when you know that you're trusted implicitly. So very easy, and so very degrading.

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great week! Mine went better than usual, I've finally gotten used to the busy routine of school, so that's an improvement. I'm so happy to be back to the blog again, especially since this movie has been on my watchlist for a long time! This week I decided to go a little more back in time and explore a film from the 1940's (another first for this blog!), Brief Encounter which I loved a lot. Let's give a little background about the film and explore its characters. I hope you enjoy reading the post!

Brief Encounter is a romance movie adapted by a play of Noel Coward and directed by David Lean. The story revolves around Laura and Dr. Alec -both of whom are married- who meet at a railway station and gradually fall in love as they keep seeing each other every Thursday in the same spot. The romance built between these characters was told in a fresh yet tragic way. New techniques used by Lean such as telling the plot backwards or Laura's stream-of-consciousness moments brought a whole new level of storytelling to cinema.

However, categorizing the movie with plain romance genre would be wrong. Based on its era, it was truly a successful film that depicted the psychological turmoil of two people who try to keep their relationship secret to avoid getting caught by their spouses. 

At this point, it's important to mention that the playwright of this film (Noel Coward) was known to be homosexual, and his struggles of keeping his relationships secret throughout his life has clearly reflected on his works as well. 

My favourite shot from the film!

Coming to the characters, let's start with Laura, who claims to be an ordinary woman leading a simple life - that is, until she met Dr. Alec. We get to know different sides of Laura throughout the film; be it her maternal affection towards her children, being a considerate wife to her spouse and a passionate lover towards Dr. Alec. Even though some would describe her actions as "cheating," the unexpected affection she feels for Dr. Alec seems pure and innocent, leading the audience to sympathize with her. I don’t remember a time in the movie where  I pictured Laura as an unfaithful wife because she was too careful not to hurt her husband’s feelings to be one. In one of my favourite quotes, she demonstrates that beautifully:” As it is, you’re the only one in the world that I can’t tell. Never never. Because even if I waited until we were old, you’d be bound to look back and be hurt. And my dear, I don’t want you to be hurt.”

I should also give credit to Celia Johnson's incredible acting, because not only she portrayed the character beautifully, but she also managed to tell her story non-verbally at times!

I'd also like to talk about the two charming side characters of the film, Lady Myrtle and the stationmaster Albert. Even though their characters serve as comedic relief from time to time in the film, they also represent the lower class' way of showing affection in contrast to the middle class' one. As Laura and Dr. Alec sit in the cafe, thinking deeply about their future, we see Lady Myrtle and Albert just enjoying their company and not caring about any consequences - which hints a lot about England’s social structure in that era.

Reaching the end of this week's post, I'm giving this movie a full 10 out of 10. Reading the reviews, I encountered a few people that found the novellike approach to the dialogues outdated (it’s the 1940s!!) and boring (You could never be dull Laura) , which is interesting because these were the elements that made the movie very touching and special to me. I think any passionate cinephile would enjoy this film at least to a certain point because of how unique and quietly beautiful it is. 

Before I finish the post, I'd like to invite you to visit my Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, all with the same nickname moviesatdawn. You can also comment your thoughts down below or send me your suggestions to: moviesatdawn@gmail.com! Thanks for being here and I'll see you right here next week!

LAURA: I want to die. If only I could die...

DR. ALEC: If you'd die, you'd forget me. I want to be remembered.

Next post: Mommy (2014) dir. Xavier Dolan