![]() |
Julie Christie enlists young Dominic Guard to pass notes in classic adaptation The Go Between |
Director: Joseph Losey
Cast: Julie Christie (Marian Maudsley), Alan Bates (Ted
Burgess), Dominic Guard (Leo Colston), Margaret Leighton (Mrs Maudsley),
Michael Redgrave (Older Leo Colston), Edward Fox (Hugh, Viscount Trimingham), Michael
Gough (Mr Maudsley), Richard Gibson (Marcus Maudsley), Roger Lloyd-Pack
(Charles)
“The past is a foreign country. They do things differently
there.”
It’s a classic line from JP Hartley’s masterpiece novel of
youthful disillusionment and trauma, The
Go-Between. This film version perfectly captures the novel’s wistful reflections
on a past that seems bright and glowing to the young boy caught up in the
centre, while carefully and subtly suggesting the darker currents and
temptations that lie under the surface.
In 1900, 12-year-old Leo Colston (Dominic Guard), a middle
class boy, spends the summer at the country house of his wealthy school friend.
There he finds himself increasingly drawn to the glamour and kindness of the
family, who do their best to make Leo feel at home – particularly Marian (Julie
Christie), the daughter of the house. Leo also befriends local farmer Ted
Burgess (Alan Bates) and finds himself recruited to carry letters between
Marian and Ted, little understanding what the messages and arrangements between
the two may mean, and what it might mean for her engagement with the decent
Viscount Trimingham (Edward Fox).
The Go-Between is
a perfect Chekovian tragedy, which brilliantly captures the hypocrisy and dangers
of the final days of the Victorian era. Of course it bubbles down to sex – and
there is tonnes of it beneath the surface in the quietly built passion between
Marian and Ted. But it’s also class as well – the primary reason why Marian’s
affair with Ted remains so illicit is because the farmer (as the younger family
members make abundantly clear) is socially unacceptable.
Class weaves itself into every part of the film. The
Maudsley family work over time to make Leo feel as comfortable as possible in
the house as they are all aware of the social gap between them. The Maudsley
family treat Leo as almost a sort of social obligation, quietly buying him new
clothes (as he ‘must have forgotten to pack’ the correct clothing for the
scorching summer heat) and making much of him at the local cricket game. But
Leo can never really forget that he falls somewhere in the middle between the
Maudsleys and Tony, and finds himself out of place with both. This awkwardness
is perfectly captured in Dominic Guard’s bashful performance.
Class is also lies under Marian’s affair with Burgess – and
she seems to know it can never last. Indeed, she has every intention it seems of
marrying Trimingham. Trimingam and her father, it’s implied, are even aware of
the affair and expect it to burn out. It’s Mrs Maudsley who seems most
threatened by the social possibilities of the affair – while the men expect the
normal order to reassert itself, Mrs Maudsley (Margaret Leighton, who
brilliantly simmers at the edge of the whole film before dominating its closing
scenes) seems far more aware of the dangers that love and attraction have.
But it’s a story where the real victims turn out to be those
outside the family. Ted Burgess (expertly played by Alan Bates, who made a
living of playing son of the soil types like this) winds up feeling like an innocent,
a bashful teenager who barely seems to know where to look when Marian
accompanies him on the piano while he sings at the celebration after the
village cricket match (Mrs Maudsley is appalled at this point). And Ted
(constantly described as a lady-killer by Maudsley and Trimingham, despite all
evidence to the contrary in his manner – further signposting their awareness of
the affair) constantly feels like the weaker partner in the relationship,
besotted with the lady of the manor.
As that lady, Julie Christie gives an intriguing performance
(even if she is slightly too old for the part). Christie’s Marian is strangely
distant, despite her many acts of kindness towards Leo. To what extent is she
merely using the boy, winning him over with affection to manipulate him later
to deliver her messages? How much does she care for the boy? She understands her
relationship with Ted can never be – and is more than prepared to marry
Trimingham – but how much is that a defence mechanism against her true
feelings? We get only a half suggestion, as Leo does, of how she may really
feel. It’s subtly left open for most of the film.
The film uses a neat device of intercutting moments of the
story with the far older Leo (Michael Redgrave, whose voice is perfect for the
moments of narration) revisiting the locations of the story again. Everything
is in contrast to the bright, luxurious summer of 1900 as the older Leo heads
around windswept and rainy locations. Unlike the past, the present day finds
the soundtrack drained out by sound effects and ambient noise. It’s a quiet
reminder of the foreboding doom that lies over the story – and the film makes
good business from the suggestion of trauma that has affected Leo resulting
from the events of 1900, and how it has shattered and reshaped his life.
Losey’s direction is a perfect capturing of the languid heat
of that 1900 summer, and he perfectly frames events and action for maximum
impact. It’s a film made of small looks, quiet asides and suggestions to the
audience played from the perspective of a child, where we need to interpret the
things we see to get a full understanding of what’s really happening and its
implications. Harold Pinter’s script is equally strong, perfectly capturing the
mood and feel of Hartley’s novel.
The Go-Between is
an excellent film, stuffed with good performances (in addition to those
mentioned, Edward Fox and Michael Gough are both excellent), and beautifully
shot and filmed. It’s an intelligent and very faithful adaptation of the book
that still manages to make the book more cinematic, with the intercutting
between past and present giving us a sense of Greek tragedy, and the
interrelations between the characters staged with subtly and intrigue. A
wonderful adaptation of a great novel.
No comments:
Post a comment