Girl with Green Eyes (1964)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 91m
Director: Desmond Davis
Cast: Rita Tushingham, Peter Finch, Lynn Redgrave
Synopsis:
A sentimental Catholic girl in Dublin develops an attachment for an older man, a writer whose wife and daughter have moved to America. He is charmed by her bookish sensibility and candour, but the difference in their ages is ultimately too much to sustain them and she leaves with her friend for London.
Review:
This Woodfall production of an Edna O'Brien novel (The Lonely Girl) is a change from the usual setting of a British New Wave film (northern England). Otherwise it has all the themes: optimistic, slightly rebellious youth, urban vs traditional values, sexual awakening, emotional coming of age. It manages its Irishness with rambunctious freshness this side of parody, so that one cannot imagine how Finch will fit in until he does; and the settings are particularly well caught, from the family farm to the closing images of the Dublin docks. What is really satisfying about it is its avoidance of hyperbole in the plot mechanics that must inevitably cause a rupture in the central relationship, which is sensitively handled throughout, and from both sides. One of the themes of the screenplay is that human relationships are perpetually in flux, and what Kate has learnt by the end is that they have simply outgrown each other: there is no need for abortions or beatings or infidelity. Once again, therefore, British cinema revealed its capacity to tackle truly adult ideas, and got an 'X' certificate in the process!
Country: GB
Technical: bw 91m
Director: Desmond Davis
Cast: Rita Tushingham, Peter Finch, Lynn Redgrave
Synopsis:
A sentimental Catholic girl in Dublin develops an attachment for an older man, a writer whose wife and daughter have moved to America. He is charmed by her bookish sensibility and candour, but the difference in their ages is ultimately too much to sustain them and she leaves with her friend for London.
Review:
This Woodfall production of an Edna O'Brien novel (The Lonely Girl) is a change from the usual setting of a British New Wave film (northern England). Otherwise it has all the themes: optimistic, slightly rebellious youth, urban vs traditional values, sexual awakening, emotional coming of age. It manages its Irishness with rambunctious freshness this side of parody, so that one cannot imagine how Finch will fit in until he does; and the settings are particularly well caught, from the family farm to the closing images of the Dublin docks. What is really satisfying about it is its avoidance of hyperbole in the plot mechanics that must inevitably cause a rupture in the central relationship, which is sensitively handled throughout, and from both sides. One of the themes of the screenplay is that human relationships are perpetually in flux, and what Kate has learnt by the end is that they have simply outgrown each other: there is no need for abortions or beatings or infidelity. Once again, therefore, British cinema revealed its capacity to tackle truly adult ideas, and got an 'X' certificate in the process!
Country: GB
Technical: bw 91m
Director: Desmond Davis
Cast: Rita Tushingham, Peter Finch, Lynn Redgrave
Synopsis:
A sentimental Catholic girl in Dublin develops an attachment for an older man, a writer whose wife and daughter have moved to America. He is charmed by her bookish sensibility and candour, but the difference in their ages is ultimately too much to sustain them and she leaves with her friend for London.
Review:
This Woodfall production of an Edna O'Brien novel (The Lonely Girl) is a change from the usual setting of a British New Wave film (northern England). Otherwise it has all the themes: optimistic, slightly rebellious youth, urban vs traditional values, sexual awakening, emotional coming of age. It manages its Irishness with rambunctious freshness this side of parody, so that one cannot imagine how Finch will fit in until he does; and the settings are particularly well caught, from the family farm to the closing images of the Dublin docks. What is really satisfying about it is its avoidance of hyperbole in the plot mechanics that must inevitably cause a rupture in the central relationship, which is sensitively handled throughout, and from both sides. One of the themes of the screenplay is that human relationships are perpetually in flux, and what Kate has learnt by the end is that they have simply outgrown each other: there is no need for abortions or beatings or infidelity. Once again, therefore, British cinema revealed its capacity to tackle truly adult ideas, and got an 'X' certificate in the process!