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The Go-Between (1970)

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7 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Losey's adaptation of LP Hartley's novel is one of his more impressive later works. Together with screenwriter Harold Pinter, he creates another of his depictions of the destructive side of the English class system, as a love affair between the daughter of an affluent country family and a local farmer is tragically thwarted by prejudice and convention. Seen through the eyes of a young boy who acts as the instrument for the couple's assignations, the affair becomes the nexus for all the repression and unspoken manipulations brewing under the polite facade of an apparently civilised society; battle becomes personal on the cricket field, and the chink of teacups hides vicious whispers and plotting. It occasionally becomes a bit too precious, especially with the inserts of the grown-up go-between visiting his past haunts, but it's strong on atmosphere (the Norfolk locations are beautifully shot by Gerry Fisher), performance and moral nuance.

Author: GA

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

Sue said...

Posted on Sep 20 2011 16:00 Very evocative film score and a haunting film about exploitation of a naive boy and his subsequent loss of innocence which has a profound effect on the rest of his life. You can still sense the shock in his expression as an adult.

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Wow, thats a really clee said...

Posted on Jun 01 2011 05:26 Wow, thats a really cleevr way of thinking about it!

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CODY said...

Posted on May 24 2011 09:27 A public school boy loses his innocence during the Age of Innocence, La Belle Epoque. He becomes traumatized for life from being crushed by two young adults he carries a crush for. In fact, under the adaptation by Harold Pinter, he never marries. (As often is the case with Pinter, he shifts from a period piece to its memory from the present.) The film commences with the famous quote: "The past is another country -- they do things differently there." This is a tapestried, very rich story of espionage, misplaced loyalty, true love, chivalry and decency -- all of these complicated by the rigid English class system code that reached its apogee prior to The Great War. It is lushly filmed and features a stellar cast including Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton, Michael Gough, Edward Fox and Michael Redgrave. It reveals rather than explains and very visually balances intellectual and emotional taboos. I watch The Go-Between" every year or so and the result, similar to rereading "The Great Gatsby," is that I become amazed that with each viewing I find even greater depth. The film is charcter driven, leading to a complex and mysterious plot that I shouldn't want to spoil. Director Joseph Losey was a film genius on par with David Lean.

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Diccon said...

Posted on Apr 22 2009 13:51 My favourite film of all time. The most intensely nostalgic look at a boy's loss of innocence at the outbreak of WW1. Heart-rending and beautifully filmed, accompanied by one of the most evocative and haunting film scores.

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Ian said...

Posted on Apr 24 2008 22:10 Jess, why if you hated the one so much did you bother with the film AND the book? I'd like to suggest that you have no taste but instead I will recommend that you stick with Big Brother or Coronation Street

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jess said...

Posted on Feb 26 2008 05:55 WORST FILM AND WORST BOOK EVER! BOTH A WASTE OF TIME!

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Tiffani Cave said...

Posted on Nov 04 2007 08:26 Stunning film, great adaptation of a brilliant book.

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