Based on
Noël Coward's play "Still Life,"
Brief Encounter
is a romantic, bittersweet drama about two married people who meet by
chance in a London railway station and carry on an intense love affair.
Sentimental yet down-to-earth and set in pre-World War II England, the
film follows British housewife Laura Jesson (
Celia Johnson), who is on her way home, but catches a cinder in her eye. By chance, she meets Dr. Alec Harvey (
Trevor Howard),
who removes it for her. The two talk for a few minutes and strike
immediate sparks, but they end up catching different trains. However,
both return to the station once a week to meet and, as the film
progresses, they grow closer, sharing stories, hopes, and fears about
their lives, marriages, and children. One day, when Alec's train is
late, both become frantic that they will miss each other. When they
finally find each other, they realize that they are in love. But what
should be a joyous realization is fraught with tragedy, since both care
greatly for their families. Howard and Johnson give flawless
performances as two practical, married people who find themselves in a
situation in which they know they can never be happy.
