Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves
Lower-class chip on the shoulder type – well played by Laurence HARVEY – nevertheless possesses the necessary moral toughness to succeed. Yet, inside, he is as ultimately timid as the social snobs he so vigorously opposes; making his victory more material than spiritual.
The feline sexuality of Simone SIGNORET steals the show as HARVEY's doomed older lover. She is an actress who can say so much with so few physical movements that she appears not to be acting at all. Her stillness masks the anguish and torment of a woman torn between a loveless marriage and a restless lover whom she knows will eventually trade her in for a younger model.
The film successfully explores the paradox of trying to disregard class consciousness by being very class conscious itself. Its endless talk about how old fashioned class consciousness is proves how pervasive and how difficult to overcome it really is.
This extremely well-cast movie grabs you from the very beginning and never lets up. Even the smallest role is played by someone who was to become more well known later: Miriam KARLIN, Prunella SCALES, Wendy CRAIG, Derren NESBITT, et al. All of the scenes are properly blocked and so all the more tense and exciting; while Jack CLAYTON's direction brings out all of the emotions of this superior melodrama. Excellent entertainment for grown ups.
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