Brief Encounters of the Loving Kind

Brief Encounter, David Lean 1945

David Lean's Brief Encounter is a powerful film about fidelity, desire, guilt, and hopeless love.

A woman and a man (Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard) have a chance meeting at a train station and gradually fall in love, despite both being happily married with children. Brief Encounter charts the short duration of this intense, passionate, yet restrained love affair.

A definite standout for the film is Celia Johnson's performance, possessing the ability to reveal so much emotion in her eyes. She remarkably portrays the torrid emotions experienced during a loving yet tumultuous relationship which ultimately ends in heartache.

Set primarily on train platforms and in station diners, Lean follows the doomed lovers as they meet on their weekly town outings. Yet these sites of transition are not just a mere setting, their presence used to convey the internal transformation that each character goes through over the course of their affair.

Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard were paired very effectively, and although the plot covers deeply moving material, the script contains comical moments, particularly from the minor characters. 

Brief Encounter is a very moving, powerful film that expertly conveys the hypnotic hopefulness of new love, through to the depth and despair of heartache.

Fortunately, throughout November and December the 2013 British Film Festival is featuring special event screenings of the top 5 BFI films, including Brief Encounter, at Palace Cinemas across Australia. A unique chance to witness David Lean's masterpiece on the big screen.