Brief Encounter is a 1945 British romantic tragedy film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play Still Life. The film stars Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in lead roles, alongside Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond, Everley Gregg and Margaret Barton.
Brief Encounter tells the story of two married strangers living in pre-World War II England, whose chance meeting at a railway station leads to a brief yet intense emotional affair disrupting their otherwise conventional lives.
The film premiered in London on 13 November 1945, followed by its wide release on 25 November. It received widespread critical acclaim, with Johnson and Howard's performances earning high praise, and moderate commercial success at the box-office.
Brief Encounter received three nominations at the 19th Academy Awards for Best Director (Lean), Best Actress (Johnson) and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was one of eleven winners in the Grand Prix category at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival, while Johnson won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.
Many critics, historians, and scholars consider Brief Encounter as one of the greatest films of all time. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked it the second-greatest British film of all time. In 2017, a Time Out poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics ranked it the 12th-best British film ever.
Plot In a railway station refreshment room, a man and a woman are sitting glumly at a table. One of the woman's friends comes in and immediately begins chatting away. After some terse pleasantries, the man leaves to catch his train. The woman explains that the man is about to move to Africa. After the man leaves, the woman abruptly disappears but soon returns, explaining that she wanted to see the express train pass by. After a short interval, the two women head for their own train.
At home, Laura Jesson, the woman at the table, sits in the living room with her husband Fred. Laura silently reflects on her recent experiences, which she retells in the form of a confession to her husband.
Laura visits Milford every week to shop and watch a matinée film. During one such outing she meets idealistic doctor Alec Harvey, who works at the local hospital on Thursdays. Alec charms her by gently removing a piece of grit from her eye.
Laura continues visiting Milford on Thursdays. The following week, she runs into Alec on the street. The week after that, they eat lunch and watch a film together. Although they are both married with children, their innocent, casual relationship begins to deepen. The situation makes them uneasy, though they admit they love each other.
Laura and Alec continue meeting in public until they unexpectedly run into some of Laura's friends, necessitating the first of many deceptions. Eventually, they agree to make love at the flat of Alec's friend Stephen, who has dinner plans. However, Stephen returns unexpectedly. Stephen overhears Laura sneaking out and subtly chides Alec for his infidelity. A distraught Laura wanders the streets for three hours until a concerned police officer urges her to go home.
At the railway station, Laura and Alec admit that their relationship is unworkable. For the sake of his family, Alec decides to end his relationship with Laura by taking a job in Johannesburg.
The next week, Laura and Alec have their final meeting in the railway station refreshment room, as previously shown in the opening scene. As they prepare to part for the last time, Laura's acquaintance Dolly Messiter interrupts them, oblivious to their anguish.
Alec's train arrives before they can say a proper goodbye. He discreetly squeezes Laura's shoulder as he departs. Laura, overcome with emotion, nearly commits suicide by jumping in front of an express train. However, she gathers herself and returns home to her family.
At home, Fred acknowledges Laura's emotional distance, though whether he knows the cause remains unclear. He thanks her for coming back to him and she weeps in his arms.
A parallel subplot involves the interactions of the station and refreshment room staff. Two of the staff flirt with each other but cannot engage in public displays of affection during work hours, which humorously contrasts with Laura and Alec's ability to meet openly with each other and inability to have a relationship outside of work hours.
Cast
Adaptation Brief Encounter is based on Noël Coward's one-act play Still Life (1936), one of ten short plays in the cycle Tonight at 8.30, designed for Gertrude Lawrence and Coward himself, to be performed in various combinations as triple bills. All scenes in Still Life are set in the refreshment room of the fictional Milford Junction railway station.
As is common in films adapted from stage plays, the film includes settings that are only mentioned in the play, such as Dr. Lynn's flat, Laura's home, a cinema, a restaurant and a branch of Boots the Chemist. Several scenes were added for the film, including a scene on a lake where Dr. Harvey gets his feet wet, Laura wandering alone in the dark and smoking on a park bench where she is confronted by a police officer, and a drive in the country in a hired car.
Some scenes were altered to be less ambiguous and more dramatic in the film adaptation. The scene in which the lovers are about to commit adultery is toned down; in the play, it is left to the audience to decide whether they actually consummate their relationship, while in the film, they do not. In the film, Laura has only just arrived at Dr. Lynn's flat when the owner returns, prompting Dr. Harvey to quickly escort her out via the kitchen service door. Additionally, when Laura contemplates suicide by throwing herself in front of a train, the film makes her intention clearer through voice-over narration.
In the play, the characters at Milford station—Mrs. Bagot, Mr. Godby, Beryl and Stanley—are aware of the growing relationship between Laura and Alec and occasionally mention it in an offhand manner. In the film, these characters pay little attention to the couple. The film's final scene, where Laura embraces her husband after he acknowledges her emotional distance and possibly suspects the cause, is not present in the original play.
Two editions of Coward's original screenplay for the film adaptation are available, both listed in the bibliography.
Production Much of the film was shot at Carnforth railway station in Lancashire, then a junction on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Although it was a busy station, it was far enough away from major cities to avoid the blackout for film purposes, allowing shooting to take place in early 1945 before World War II had ended. At two points in the film, platform signs indicate local destinations such as Leeds, Bradford, Morecambe and Lancaster, even though Milford is intended to be in the home counties. Noël Coward provided the station announcements in the film. The station refreshment room was recreated in a studio. Carnforth station retains many of the period features from the time of filming and has become a place of pilgrimage for fans of the film. Some of the urban scenes were shot in London, Denham, and Beaconsfield, near Denham Studios.
The country bridge the lovers visit twice, including on their final day, is Middle Fell Bridge at Dungeon Ghyll in Cumbria.
The poem that Fred asks Laura to help him with for his crossword is by John Keats: "When I have Fears that I may Cease to Be". The quote Fred recites is "When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face, huge cloudy symbols of a high romance".
In addition to the Keats reference, there is a visual reference to an Arabic love poem. In Dr. Lynn's apartment, a wall hanging is prominently displayed twice—first over the dining table when Laura enters, and later over Alec's left shoulder when Stephen confronts him.
The original choice for the role of Alec Harvey was Roger Livesey, but David Lean cast Trevor Howard after seeing him in The Way to the Stars.Brownlow p 195 Joyce Barbour was originally cast as Dolly, but Lean was dissatisfied with her performance, and she was replaced by Everley Gregg.Brownlow p 198
Music Excerpts from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 recur throughout the film, performed by the National Symphony Orchestra under Muir Mathieson, with Eileen Joyce as the pianist. Additionally, there is a scene in a tearoom where a salon orchestra plays Spanish Dance No. 5 (Bolero) by Moritz Moszkowski.
Release
Box office According to trade papers, Brief Encounter was a "notable box-office attraction" and was the 21st most popular film at the British box office in 1946.
Critical reception Brief Encounter received widespread critical acclaim, with Johnson and Howard's performances earning high praise; although there were doubts that it would be "generally popular". Variety praised the film, stating, "Coward's name and strong story spell nice US chances."
It was a moderate success in the UK and became a major hit in the US, leading to Johnson's nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The New York Times review was approving: "Of all the recent offerings in the show-shops, it is definitely one of the best. And that is because it does the one thing which so few of our films ever do; it tells a believeable human story in a straight and believeable way. It's the barest wisp of a story….and the love afair is of the simplest—just a couple of harmless rendezvous in which the two have luncheon together, go to the movies, and take a modest country drive. It is only a tentative meeting in the apartment of an absent friend (who happens to come home early) that makes them see the impossibility of love and compels them to the ultimate parting (which initiates the flash-back telling of the tale)….Indeed, it is in the decency and obvious futility of their love, hedged in by all the conventions of society and domesticity, that is lodged the heart of the drama. For Mr. Coward's little story simply says that our drab lives are governed most by loyalties; we but surrender now and then to hopeless dreams."Crowther, Bosley. "The Screen: For Adults"”. New York Times, 15 September 1946, p.21
The Chicago Tribune concurred: "An elegy for a lost love, 'Brief Encounter' is an artistic and sensitive film of a superior sort. By its very simplicity and lack of glamor, the story has a realism that is deeply touching….Celia Johnson makes her Laura a winning person, and Trevor Howard's Dr. Harvey is equally personable. Neither is particularly good looking, a fact which enhances the appeal and reality of the sad little story. They are just ordinary people, living an old, old story, but they have character and conscience, and you will not forget them easily."Tinee, Mae. "Movie Takes Page From Life; Makes It Real." Chicago Tribune, 24 October 1946, p.32
Today, Brief Encounter is widely acclaimed for its black-and-white cinematography and the evocative atmosphere created by its steam-age railway setting, elements particularly associated with David Lean's original version. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 78 reviews. The site's critical consensus states: "Brief Encounter adds a small but valuable gem to the Lean filmography, depicting a doomed couple's illicit connection with affecting sensitivity and a pair of powerful performances." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Awards and nominations Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref. Academy Awards Best Director David Lean Best Actress Celia Johnson Best Screenplay Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean, and Ronald Neame Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix du Festival International du Film National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actress Celia Johnson
Legacy