(Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival)
Based on the novel by L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between is the story of a young boy who is invited to his rich friend’s home where he becomes a go-between for his friend’s sister and a tenant farmer neighbor who are having an affair. Directed by Joseph Losey and screenplay by Harold Pinter, the film is a coming-of-age film in which a young boy discovers love and its many complications as well as the differences of social classes and environments. Starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton, Edward Fox, Michael Gough, and Dominic Guard. The Go-Between is a ravishing and evocative film from Joseph Losey.
Set in the span of a summer in the Norfolk countryside in the year of 1900, the film revolves around a 12-year old boy who becomes a messenger for his best friend’s older sister and a farmer who lives nearby unaware that they’re having a secret affair. It’s a film that plays into a boy dealing with the world around him in the course of the summer as he lives in an estate with this rich family where he befriends a young woman and her family. Harold Pinter’s screenplay is largely straightforward yet it would have bits of flash-forwards as it relates to its protagonist Leo Colston (Dominic Guard) who is given the chance to live in this lavish countryside estate in Norfolk, England for the summer with his friend Marcus Maudsley (Richard Gibson) whose parents (Michael Gough and Margaret Leighton) welcome Colston as they show him around their world. Yet, Leo is interested in Marcus’ older sister Marion (Julie Christie) who is also fascinated with Leo as she helps him fit in with their world as Leo notices Marion talking to a tenant farmer named Ted Burgess (Alan Bates) who lives nearby the Maudsley estate.
Pinter’s script would play into this growing conflict within Colston as he is asked by Marion to run to Burgess’ farm and give him a message and vice versa where he becomes this messenger unaware of the contents of these notes. Yet, Colston would figure out what is going on as Marion is being pursued by an estate owner in Hugh, Viscount Trimingham (Edward Fox) whom Colston meets and actually likes but he relates to Burgess more as they both come from similar backgrounds. Once Colston is aware of this connection between Marion and Burgess, he struggles to keep it a secret as he’s also coping with news within the family that would become troubling as suspicion emerges among family members as well as the news of Marion’s engagement to Hugh.
Joseph Losey’s direction does have bits of style in some scenes yet much of it is very straightforward to capture this posh and lavish world that Colston is surrounded by. Shot on location in various parts of Norfolk including Norwich, the film does play into this idyllic world where everyone is living in this lavish home and relax in open landscapes near farms where harvest hasn’t arrived yet. Losey would use wide shots to capture the beauty of the farmland and gardens while he would maintain an intimacy through the close-ups and medium shots for much of the drama. Notably the scenes where Colston would engage Marion or Burgess in their present environment as Colston would walk or run through fields to be their messenger. Yet, things would intensify during the film’s second act with the presence of Hugh who isn’t a bad man but he’s more of a man that is suitable for Marion in terms of social status.
Since the film also would feature these offbeat flash-forwards as it relates to an old man (Michael Redgrave), it would play into Colston’s own role in this secret affair as he’s also in the world of magic where he would try to infuse his wisdom in magic to help them. Instead, things become complicated as Colston would endure not just disappointment but also ideas of adulthood as it would climax with his thirteenth birthday party hosted by Mrs. Maudsley who has been suspicious of her daughter’s frequent disappearances. The moment wouldn’t just be a loss of innocence for Colston but also a truth that many are forced to face as it relates to the idea of love and the taboos it has in high society. Overall, Losey crafts a majestic yet haunting film about a boy being a messenger for two lovers in a secretive affair in the summer of 1900 in Norfolk, England.
Cinematographer Gerry Fisher does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it play into the natural beauty of the British countryside in the daytime exteriors with the usage of low-key lights for the scenes at night. Editor Reginald Beck does terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few jump-cuts to play into the flash-forwards in the film. Art director Carmen Dillon does brilliant work with the art direction with the look of the estate as well as its interiors as well as Burgess’ farm. Costume designer John Furniss does amazing work with the costume with the look of the dresses the women wore in those times as well as the clothes the men wore in high society in the early days of the 20th Century.
The makeup work of Bob Lawrence and hairstyling of Stephanie Kaye is fantastic for the hairstyles that the women had as well as the scar that Hugh sports on his face. Sound recordists Bob Bremner and Mike Rutter do superb work with the sound as it play into the natural elements of the locations as well as carriages sounded in those times. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is incredible as it is a major highlight of the film with its piano-based orchestral score that play into the drama as well as the sense of longing between Marion and Burgess.
The film’s remarkable cast include some notable small roles such as an early appearance from Jim Broadbent as a cricket spectator, Roger Lloyd-Pack as a family friend in Charles, Amaryllis Garnett as Marion’s friend Kate, Richard Gibson as Colston’s friend Marcus who would invite Colston to live with him during the summer, Michael Gough as Mr. Maudsley who is kind to Colston as they collaborate on things relating to nature, and Michael Redgrave in a small yet terrific performance as an old man in the film’s flash-forwards. Edward Fox is superb as Hugh, Viscount Trimingham as a noble figure and family friend of the Maudsley who would show Colston the ways of the world but is also aware of the class divide as he’s pursuing Marion just to ensure that she’ll be fine. Margaret Leighton is fantastic as Mrs. Maudsley as the family matriarch who runs the estate as she becomes suspicious about Marion’s activities outside of the home as well as what Colston does outside the home.
Dominic Guard is brilliant as Leo Colston as a 12-year old boy who is invited to stay at the lavish estate of his schoolmate where he deals with his surroundings as well as being a messenger between two people as he copes with all of the emotional complications that would lead to this loss of innocence. Alan Bates is amazing as Ted Burgess as a tenant farmer who lives nearby as he’s a simple man that likes to run his farm as he gives Colston some advice on life and love as he’s cagey about his relationship with Marion knowing that it would hurt her socially if anyone knew about it. Finally, there’s Julie Christie in an incredible performance as Marion Maudsley as a woman who is from a posh and respected family that finds joy in Colston as she asks him to be a messenger as she tries not to reveal her own feelings for Burgess as it’s a performance with a sense of restraint but also anguish over what she’s being asked to do and what she wants putting Colston in the middle.
The Go-Between is a sensational film from Joseph Losey that features top-notch performances from Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Dominic Guard, and Margaret Leighton. Along with its gorgeous setting, haunting premise, and Michel Legrand’s sumptuous score, it’s a film that explores a boy being caught in the middle over a secretive affair between two people of different social classes. In the end, The Go-Between is a spectacular film from Joseph Losey.
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the novel by John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman is the story of a Victorian-era gentleman who falls for a social outcast during the 19th Century while two actors playing the characters in a production of the film fall in love with each other. Directed by Karel Reisz and screenplay by Harold Pinter, the film is an unusual drama that mixes the period film with postmodern aesthetics to play into two cross-cutting narratives that blur reality and fantasy. Starring Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan, Peter Vaughan, Leo McKern, Richard Griffiths, and Penelope Wilton. The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a ravishing and evocative film from Karel Weisz.
The film follows the love affair between a Victoria-era gentleman in Britain and a social outcast that is considered forbidden as the former is engaged to the daughter of a revered gentleman. At the same time, the story parallels with two actors taking part in a film production of the story that is being told as they’re having their own affair. Harold Pinter’s screenplay provides a cross-cutting narrative of sorts as the bulk of the film is about the story between the paleontologist Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons) and this mysterious woman in Sarah Woodruff (Meryl Streep) whom he meets as she is standing on a pier during a windy and rainy day. Their relationship is one of intrigue from Smithson’s point of view as he is wondering about her story and why she is considered an outcast. Even as Smithson is reminding himself that he has an obligation to marry Ernestina (Lynsey Baxter) but remains entranced by Woodruff’s presence who often looks out at the sea as it relates to her sense of loss and longing as she had an affair with a married French officer.
Pinter’s script would also have this paralleling storyline in which the actors playing the characters of Smithson in Mike (Jeremy Irons) and Woodruff in the American actress Anna (Meryl Streep) who both begin an affair during the production as they try to figure out the story and characters they’re playing. Yet, their relationship has some complications as both of them are married to other people with Mike wanting to pursue Anna similar to what Smithson is doing in his pursuit towards Woodruff. Still, there is something about Woodruff that is compelling as she is a person that is anguished in her longing as it would often lead to episodes of madness which would drive Smithson into making impulsive decisions into his obsession for Woodruff.
Karel Reisz’s direction is quite exquisite for the way he would mirror certain locations of what it looked like in the 19th Century and what it would look like in the late 20th Century. Shot on various locations in Britain such as Lake Windermere, Exeter, Lyme Regis, the docks of London, and sets at the Twickenham Studios in Britain. The film does play into a world where many of the ideas of obsession and desire haven’t changed where Reisz would be in a certain location where the main story is taking place and then transport it to where the story is being told by the actors as they’re making the film. The approach to the compositions as well as trying to match it whether it’s in a wide or medium shot allows this line of fantasy and reality to emerge though the actors playing these characters are unaware of their relationship starting to mirror the way Smithson and Woodruff happens. Reisz’s close-ups would play into the growing relationship between the two couples in the film while he would create these exquisite wide shots to play into Woodruff’s sense of longing including this opening shot of Anna as Woodruff walking into the pier where Smithson would first meet her.
Reisz’s direction would also infuse elements of melodrama in some aspects of the main story as it relates to Smithson’s own search for Woodruff when she’s been sent away as he turns to others for help as they’re reluctant to knowing it would hurt his social status. Reisz would use some long shots to play into some of the monologues that happens including one in the forest where Woodruff reveals her affair with the French officer and how it ruined her to the point that she would turn into an outcast. The film’s third act would play into the pursuits of Smithson/Mike towards Woodruff/Anna with the latter in Anna attending a gathering held by Mike where it adds some confusion about what she wants to do in her relationship with Mike. Even as they’re about to film the ending as it is revealed that the book had multiple endings. One of which Reisz would make the choice as it add into the journey of these two couples with two different outcomes that blur reality and fiction. Overall, Reisz creates a riveting and enchanting film about a man pursuing an outcast in Victorian-era Britain with its players falling for each other.
Cinematographer Freddie Francis does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its low-key yet naturalistic look for many of the daytime exterior scenes in the forests as well as the usage of available lighting for scenes at night while the 20th Century scenes is presented with bits of style in its usage of artificial lighting. Editor John Bloom does excellent work with the editing with its stylish transitions in some match cutting of locations in its different time periods as well as some rhythmic cuts to play into the drama. Production designer Assheton Gordon, with set decorator Ann Mollo plus art directors Allan Cameron, Norman Dorme, and Terry Pritchard, does brilliant work with the look of the sets of the 19th Century scenes from the rooms and offices where Smithson goes to as well as the hotel room that Mike and Anna stay at.
Costume designer Tom Rand does fantastic work with the period costumes of the 19th Century scenes as it play into the look and mood of the characters while going for something more casual for the scenes with Mike and Anna. Sound editor Don Sharpe does superb work with the sound in creating some natural textures in some of the locations as well as capturing some of the chaos in the some of the locations. The film’s music by Carl Davis is wonderful for its somber orchestral score that play into the drama as well as in some of the romantic scenes while the soundtrack include a couple of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The casting by Patsy Pollock is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Penelope Wilton as Mike’s wife Sonia, Peter Vaughan as Ernestina’s father, Richard Griffiths as a young nobleman Smithson gets drunk with, Emily Morgan as a young maid named Mary, Hilton McRae as Smithson’s assistant Sam, Lynsey Baxter as Smithson’s fiancée Ernestina, Charlotte Mitchell as an old woman Woodruff works for, and Leo McKern in a superb performance as Smithson’s mentor Dr. Grogan who helps Smithson trying to decide what is right. Finally, there’s the duo of Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep in phenomenal performances in their respective dual roles of Charles Smithson/Mike and Sarah Woodruff/Anna. Irons provides a determination as well as a sensitivity in his approach to Smithson who would eventually become obsessed while is more calm but troubled as Mike. Streep has this air of radiance in her approach as Woodruff as a woman filled with a lot of anguish and torment to express her madness while is a bit more aloof yet witty as Anna.
The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a sensational film from Karel Reisz that features great performances from Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. Along with Harold Pinter’s inventive script, gorgeous visuals, and a sumptuous score, the film is truly an offbeat yet rapturous film that explores relationships and the pursuit of that in different time periods with two couples taking on paralleling journeys. In the end, The French Lieutenant’s Woman is an incredible film from Karel Reisz.
Karel Reisz Films: (Momma Don’t Allow) – (We Are the Lambeth Boys) – (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) – (Night Must Fall) – (Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment) – (Isadora) – (The Gambler (1974 film)) – (Who’ll Stop the Rain) – (Sweet Dreams (1985 film)) – (Everybody Wins (1990 film))
© thevoid99 2018
