This exquisitely crafted British classic was directed by the great David Lean and based on Noel Coward’s 1935 half-hour one-act stage play “Still Life.” It’s one of filmdom’s great romantic tear-jerkers. Simply told and emotionally honest,
BRIEF ENCOUNTER is a peek into the quiet desperation involved in a brief extramarital love affair between two married, middle-class Brits who meet in the refreshment tea room of a railway station and continue to see each other over seven weekly meetings. Laura (Celia Johnson) is a wife and mother hungry for escape from her humdrum life and sterile marriage; Alec (Trevor Howard) is a kind young doctor. The passion between them is obvious, yet the film maintains chaste minimalism throughout – a credit to the writing, direction and British sensibilities of the time. You'll want a box of tissues nearby for the ending.
