The Astonished Heart

Most helpful review The Astonished Heart

• Don't expect Brief Encounter... then enjoy

   

  By PennyChalk (1 review) , 02 Dec 2011

  [Highly rated reviewer]

  I decided to rent this film because I am a huge fan of Brief Encounter, which like this film was written by Coward and starred Celia Johnson. Unsurprisingly, I did watch this film with apprehension as I had doubts that a director of Hammer horror could live up to the standards set by David Lean.
  
  In fairness, Fisher didn't do too badly. Some of it was a bit clunky, not a great fan of the wibbly woobly scene transition to denote the past, but then it wasn't used half as much as in In Which We Serve (Coward and Lean). Celia Johnson was excellent and I didn't expect anything less. Coward has given her some great one liners that she delivers with that heart wrenching despair and swimming eyes like no one else.
  
  'tears let a little of the grief out, I envy them'
  
  I'm not a great fan of Coward's acting style, I LOVE his writing, but you're forever conscious that he is acting, and I personally find that a little distracting. The narrative was interesting taking into account the state of sexual morality and repression of the time.
  
  So yes a fairly good film, but no Brief Encounter. So as long as you don't enter into this expecting that, you wont be disappointed.

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