Black and white realism
A Kind Of Loving review
By
Zamy from London
- 3
- 0
13th April 2005
This is one of the breakthrough British films of the 1960's when the camera went outdoors and the characters were ordinary, often working class, people. The story here is a straightforward one of young love blighted by lack of knowledge, misunderstandings and unfeeling relatives. The details of grim city life in northern England are well built up by director Schlesinger although the film could have benefited from tighter editing and a 90 minute running time. Overall the cast perform well with Thora Hird doing sterling work as a battle-axe of a mother-in-law. Unfortunately June Ritchie comes across as rather hard and unsympathetic as Alan Bate's love interest and this rather spoiled it for me. Well worth watching for it's slice of northern life, but for me the breakthrough British film of this period is Lindsay Anderson's 'This Sporting Life'. A more complex and darker film it must rank as one of the best British films of all time.
