Iconic director David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO) deftly explores the thrill, pain and tenderness of an illicit romance in dour, gray post-war Britain. After a chance meeting on a train platform, a married doctor (Trevor Howard, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson, THIS HAPPY BREED) enter into a muted, passionate but ultimately unconsummated situationship. This depiction of powerful feelings kept under wraps is a definitive example of a particularly English style of emotional restraint. BRIEF ENCOUNTER is also a potent beacon for queer subtext, as its subject of forbidden love holds special resonance.
