About this fanlisting

This fanlisting is for the movie Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean and first released in 1945.

I first saw this film when I was at university, and it has stood up well to repeated viewings, becoming one of my favourite romantic movies. I think I watch it differently each time I see it - sometimes it seems unbearably sad, sometimes I find hope in the ending, sometimes I see a funny side to the characters behaviour. I have always sympathised with Laura, whose narration manages to convey the tumultuous emotions of falling in love, but also a self-awareness and honest evaluation of her feelings and actions. It seems a long way from Hollywood romances - the characters are not glamourous and youthful, but ordinary and middle-aged, and to me the film is the stronger for it. It is a study of a momentary breaking through of passion and emotion in outwardly dull and respectable lives. The passion is all the more poignant for being unrequited, and the absence of steamy love scenes adds to rather than detracts from its emotional intensity. The film is also beautifully shot, and the use of Rachmaninov's gorgeous Piano Concerto no. 2 in the soundtrack is unforgettable.

'No time at all' is a quote from the movie - when Laura breaks down, trying to tell Alec that 'there is still time' for them to take control of there feelings, he says, 'There is no time at all'. It is also a reference to the significance of time in the movie - the restrictions of schedules and timetables; the few short weeks of the affair which seem to the lovers at times to have lasted forever, at others to have flown by all too quickly.

To find out more about the movie itself, see under info, or check out the links under etc.

What is a fanlisting?

As the name implies, a fanlisting is basically a list of people who are fans of a particular subject. It is open for fans from all around the world to join, and can be a way of finding others online who share your interests. For more information, visit thefanlistings.org, the original and ever-growing online fanlistings directory.