The Browning Version

For one of the finest examples of understated British acting, look no further than Michael Redgrave's flawless performance in The Browning Version. Directed with delicate subtlety by Anthony Asquith and adapted by Terence Rattigan from his own exquisitely nuanced play, the film intimately examines the emotional torment of Andrew Crocker-Harris (Redgrave), an embittered, middle-aged public schoolmaster who is painfully coming to the realization that his life has been a series of failures defined by nagging illness, a crumbling marriage to a cheating wife, and the derision of his pupils, who've nicknamed him "the Crock" with some justification. There are moments of relief from his tightly repressed turmoil (as when one devoted student pays his respects with a sincere gesture of kindness), but because Crocker-Harris is acutely aware of his own shortcomings and his flagging status as a once-respected scholar, we see how his reticence is building to a devastating climax that's as quietly triumphant as it is dramatically cathartic, as the film chronicles the last day of his teaching career. Asquith directs Rattigan's unsentimental drama with respectful regard for its cumulative impact, while Redgrave delivers a performance that's almost too anguished to watch (you feel like you're invading the poor man's privacy at his moment of deepest vulnerability). The film's theatrical origins are readily apparent, but no matter; like Asquith's version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest made with Redgrave the following year, The Browning Version is a timeless British classic. In addition to an astutely informative audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder, the DVD includes an archival TV interview with Redgrave from 1958, an interview with Mike Figgis (who directed a 1994 remake starring Albert Finney), and a printed essay by critic Geoffrey Macnab. Highly recommended. (J. Shannon)