Rent The Go-Between (1970)

Summer Dreams. - The Go-Between review by Steve

Some say great books make bad films, which is obviously untrue and this adaptation of L.P. Hartley's memory novel is a prime example. It becomes another quality, arthouse collaboration between director Joseph Losey and screenwriter Harold Pinter.

The narrative straddles the late Victorian class divide in rural Norfolk. A middle class boy (Dominic Guard) spends the summer at a country estate passing illicit romantic messages between an upper class beauty (Julie Christie), and an earthy farmer (Alan Bates).

But the 12 year old is too young to understand the essence of the relationship he enables, with lifelong repercussions. It is a slow, languid film set in the long summer of our distant pasts, which contrasts with the grey, cold reality of the present day.

Because the past is a foreign country.... There's an attractive period production and understated performances from an exceptional cast. It's yet another Losey classic; his filmography is like a red album of greatest hits (with Modesty Blaise his Yellow Submarine!)

The Past Is Another Country, and Frankly a Bit of a Dud - The Go-Between review by griggs

Sun-drenched repressions dn buttoned-up longing should be a winning combo, especially with Pinter behind the script. But The Go-Between is oddly stiff—emotionally bottled and dramatically flat. The central idea is strong: a boy caught in a doomed romance, used as a pawn by adults too cowardly to face consequences. There’s plenty of room for tension, but very little arrives.

The visuals have a hazy, postcard charm, and Julie Christie is as compelling as ever, even if she’s not given much to do beyond smoulder in period costume. Alan Bates broods. The boy frets. And yet, despite the promise of secrecy and scandal, much of it trudges.

What surprised me most was how clunky and syrupy some of the dialogue is—Pinter, usually a master of subtext, seems oddly sentimental here. It’s not without its moments, and the framing device adds some bite, but for a film about forbidden desire, it’s remarkably well-behaved. More wilted rose than English rose.