Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 24-December-06
Spoiler Rating: Medium

The Browning Version (1951)

"The Browning Version" sounds like it ought to be a thriller (think "The China Syndrome" or "The Bourne Identity"), but it's actually an understated drama about human frailty and connection. The marvelous Michael Redgrave stars as a classics don at a British prep school whose name is Crocker-Harris but who's most frequently called "The Croc" by the student body. They don't want him to know, of course, but he does, just as he knows why. While preparing to retire to a job less taxing on his health, the scaly old fellow is forced to acknowledge his failures in life: how his colleagues don't respect him, his pupils fear and loathe him, his dreams have been abandoned, and his wife has long abused him. This happens over the course of a day marked by quiet heartbreak and subtle hope.

The movie has its origins in a play by Terence Rattigan, and the economy of movement and tightness of dialogue is retained. (Both refreshing to the modern viewer ... or at least this one.) The title comes from a moving central scene in which one of The Croc's students (Brian Smith) presents him with a book of verse by Robert Browning as a going-away present. This simple act of kindness produces a remarkable effect on its recipient and gives the story its soul. Even in such a sparse production, the protagonist's regret and sorrow are forceful enough that they might render the picture too depressing to be enjoyed. But there's a mitigating humanity throughout. Redgrave contributes to it despite his character's aspect of a walking "corpse;" it's also evident in the young scholar who replaces him (Ronald Howard) and the fellow professor (Nigel Patrick) who is having an affair with his wife (Jean Kent). These men see the person behind the Latin epigrams and unexpectedly give him encouragement. Only Mrs. Crocker-Harris comes off as one-dimensional and utterly cold, which appears to be the fault of the actress. Kent does not understand the distinction between a woman disappointed in her ambitions and a harlot from Hell.

Like many a prep-school tale, "The Browning Version" ends with a gesture that gets the tear ducts going, nicely restrained to match the rest of the film. The Croc doesn't hop in his car and announce that he's going to see about a girl, but he moves into the future left him with desire and dignity intact. That's as much as any man could wish for who suddenly confronts his lost opportunities.

Copyright © 2006 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.