England
Shown in 1971
CREDITS
- dir
-
Joseph Losey
- prod
-
John Heyman, Norman Priggen
- scr
-
Harold Pinter
- cam
-
Gerry Fisher
- cast
-
Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Dominic Guard, Margaret Leighton, Edward Fox, Michael Gough, Michael Redgrave, Richard Gibson
- source
-
Columbia Pictures
-
COMMENTS
Opening Night film. Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter in person.
OTHER
An exceptional adaptation of L.P. Hartley's novel, this film won the grand prize at this year's Cannes Festival, bringing further acclaim to the exceptional collaborations of director Joseph Losey and the writer Harold Pinter (The Servant, Accident). This story, set in the late 19th century, describes events occurring one of those languid Edwardian summers preceding World War I. The Maudsleys of Brandham Hall welcome their young son, Marcus, for the holidays, with his chum, Leo Colston. Leo is from a rather genteel, middle-class background, but his shyness soon turns to adulatory wonder in this aristocratic microcosm and the kindnesses of Marian Maudsley, the eldest daughter, win him over completely. Gradually, the sultry landscapes, ordered routines and tinkly teacup conversation form a closed environment, shielding expression and sexual transgression from the sunlight. The boy, Leo, soon learns that Marian, already engaged to a lord, is having an affair with Burgess, a neighboring farmer. Dazzled by Marian's confidence in him, Leo agrees to be their go-between, carrying messages and letters of assignation from Brandham to the farm. Once this pattern is established, the tension builds unbearably—one is pulled back from the time of the narrative into some mysterious present, on another journey to Brandham, then back again. The characters who have once seemed gentle and harmless, particularly the elegant Mrs. Maudsley, become ominous and destructive. The climax cannot be revealed, of course, but The Go-Between is a fascinating, emotionally taut exposure of realities hidden beneath the civilized exterior of a polite society—it is the filmic essence of Edwardian drama, as disquieting as acid on lace.
—Albert Johnson
FACTOID #33
French New Wave actress Jeanne Moreau’s 1974 Festival tribute, called “a veritable orgy” for her fans by the Examiner’s Stanley Eichelbaum, included screenings of four films (The Lovers, Jules and Jim, Bay of Angels and Diary of a Chambermaid), an onstage interview with Moreau and an additional two hours of clips. Running nine to 11 hours (depending on the source), the tribute was the longest recorded at the Festival.
