The Go-Between

The Go-Between is a simple film and said by many to be one of the greatest British films ever made even going so far as to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes (alongside such masterpieces as The Third Man, Apocalypse Now, Barton Fink and Pulp Fiction). The people involved are also the cream of the crop with award winning playwright Harold Pinter adapting the classic L.P. Hartley novel and starring multiple award winners Julie Christie and Alan Bates.

Directed by Joseph Losey, The Go-Between tells the typical story of love between two people from different backgrounds. Marian (Christie) is a fairly cultured lady soon to be engaged to a well bred viscount, but she finds her affections leading towards Ted Burgess (Bates) a local farmer. Their love is of course forbidden and so they must communicate through notes that are passed by young Leo, who becomes the go-between. The path of love becomes complicated by Leo's adolescent and questioning nature and the rules of society that dominated the period.

Now, I should say I didn't enjoy this film. I can appreciate the way it was filmed and the way it was filmed is gorgeous, the sets, the costumes are all perfect, sadly the film surrounding it isn't. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's simply that having watched so many outstanding Merchant-Ivory films over the years that set the bar so high for quality in terms of story, acting and presentation that this film feels a little like a step back. The script is a fine adaptation of the novel and the line: 'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there', could easily rank alongside 'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse', in terms of great pieces of dialogue. However, the film feels too much like an effort to watch and I simply could not settle into the story because it feels like such a basic, clichéd storyline that rips off almost every romantic drama ever made. The acting by Bates and Christie is fine, but the ensemble around them seems to have just picked up their character from the 'English Stereotype Handbook' and this does not make for an entertaining film.

The extras are a little odd to say the least. There are five interviews included, but of these only two were directly involved with the film and a rather lengthy audio interview with Joseph Losey which at a hundred minutes should have been cut into chapters for those who could not listen all in one go. Apart from the trailer for the film the other extra is a rather bizarre advert for Horlicks that Losey directed which was included for some reason I cannot fathom as it certainly doesn't show how good he was as a director.

The Go-Between is a good film, just not a great one. I understand why people enjoy it and I understand why people can appreciate what was achieved. As an example of literary adaptation, this is one of the best examples I can think of, but it just does not translate to a very entertaining watch, which is a shame.