Two strangers meet at a suburban British train station by chance in the late 1930's, their chance meeting eventually turns into a taboo romance as the woman is married with children and cannot let her scandalous love affair get out into the public. Yet, the two continue to meet to carry on their affair. This is the premise of the 1945 film,
Brief Encounter, based on the then controversial play by
Noel Coward. The film, which stars
Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, would eventually win the Palm d'Or at 1946 Cannes Film Festival and would be a staple in theater for decades, including the most recent reenactment that hit Broadway in 2010.
Brief Encounter, for all of it's fantastic acting, riles on the source material, the brilliant Coward script that while it was controversial when released in the late 30's, still resonates with the same eye brow raising excitement it did back then. The film is certainly still worthy of watching but if a production of it is playing nearby, go see that as well.
