Der Mittler

It's turn of the century in the English country. Young Leo Colston is spending the summer with his rich school friend Marcus Maudsley's family estate. He is taken with Marcus' older sister Marian Maudsley (Julie Christie). He encounters tenant farmer Ted Burgess (Alan Bates) who recruits him to deliver love letters between Ted and Marian.

Harold Pinter adapted the screenplay from a novel. It's a rather leisurely stroll through the country especially in the beginning. The plot is not that complicated. The tension is not raised until the introduction of Burgess. There is always a sense of danger beneath the generally loving character. This inherent instability within him is the most compelling part of the movie. Marian has one great scene. It's a two hours costumed romance. It's a bit slow with moments of great intensity.

Richly-detailed period romantic drama, told more or less from a child's viewpoint but treated with the maturity one has come to expect from a Losey film (the main plot is interspersed with fragmented clips of the boy as an old man - played by Sir Michael Redgrave - revisiting the aristocratic country estate where the majority of the narrative takes place).

Though the characters are rather swamped by their surroundings (the two leads are particularly subdued) - as captured by the gleaming cinematography of Gerry Fisher and the elegant décor of Carmen Dillon - the film allows for several good performances from a sturdy cast, including Dominic Guard (as the boy Leo who acts as messenger in the impossible love between upper-class Julie Christie and commoner Alan Bates, both of whom he idolizes), Edward Fox (as Christie's intended, a war-hero), as well as Margaret Leighton and Michael Gough (as her parents); Leighton's role remains in the background for most of the time but, then, she asserts herself during the last third to bring down the couple's relationship - with the unwilling assistance of the bewildered Guard. Besides, Michel Legrand contributes an atypically ominous yet haunting score.

This was the third and last time Losey and screenwriter Harold Pinter worked together, constituting a very fruitful and quite extraordinary collaboration; for about two-thirds of its length, the film finds Losey somewhere near his best - the contemporary subplot where Leo reprises his 'services' for an older Christie works less well, in my opinion (and is too sketchily presented anyway), rendering an already deliberately-paced film somewhat overlong!

THE GO-BETWEEN won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for an impressive 12 BAFTA awards (winning 4) but received only 1 Oscar nomination (for Leighton as Best Supporting Actress).

The first time I saw this film, I was 18 years old. Now, almost thirty years later, I am still enthralled by its two atmospheres - a hot summery Norfolk, England at the turn of the century versus a cloudy, rainy, modern-day Norfolk. The juxtaposition between the two periods is stunning, and mysterious. The acting is superb, the sets and costumes are superior, and the haunting Michel Legrand score stays with you long after the film is over. I find the film to be quite elegant in its scenes of yesteryear, where the "old" England seemed dreamy, leisurely, carefree, and prim and proper, compared to the dreary, coldly realistic, grown-up, modern-day England, where the past is spoken about, and an explanation of what happened in the past is requested.

Although the movie ends on a tragic note, there is a hint of hope which I found oddly liberating, a feature I didn't notice 30 years ago. But like fine wine, this movie ages well. Enjoy, and go on a trip to the past "...{where it's} a foreign country...they do things differently there."

The period piece films of Ivory-Merchant have nothing on Joseph Losey's The Go Between. In fact I'm sure that James Ivory and Ismail Merchant more than likely modeled their own films on the ambience of Victorian England that Losey gave to this fine production.

Young Domenic Guard is invited to spend his summer with his school chum Richard Gibson's family in their country home. The Maudsleys live in grand style and Gibson's parents are Michael Gough and Margaret Leighton. When Gibson comes down with the measles, the hospitality slack is taken up with his older sister Julie Christie. She's engaged to Edward Fox cricketeer and Boer War hero. They all make Guard feel quite welcome and he has the run of the place.

The Go Between is set in those more strict and innocent times and it could never work today. But given the lavishness of the sets and costumes you really do feel you're back in the post Boer War days of Queen Victoria. And a young kid like Guard's character at thirteen could really be as innocent as he is. But he is approaching puberty and he's got lots of questions.

On a family outing he and the rest meet up with farm hand Alan Bates, a rough type. Pretty soon for his new friend Christie young Guard finds himself taking messages back and forth to Bates from Christie and vice versa.

She may be marrying Fox, but it's Bates that gets her mojo working. Back in those days only Viennese like Sigmund Freud and his colleagues were discussing things like that. Losey with scriptwriter Harold Pinter nailed those Victorian attitudes down quite well.

I can't believe that The Go Between got no Oscar recognition in either the set or costume design categories. Margaret Leighton did receive an Oscar nomination for her role in the Supporting Actress category. Her scene with young Domenic Guard as she suspects what's going on with her daughter is well played by both.

The Go Between is a great expose of Victorian manners and morals and a sumptious piece of film making.

Invited by his upper crust classmate Marcus Maudsley to summer at his family estate thirteen year old Leo Colston is taken into confidence by Marcus's beautiful older sister Marian (Julie Christie) to act as a messenger to her illicit lover, local farmer Ted Burgess (Alan Bates.) Marian is engaged to Lord Trimingham (Edward Fox) whom Leo develops a strong liking for. This complicates matters for Leo who has the same feelings for Ted and out right affection for Marian. The child's innocence becomes a detriment however when he attempts to make sense of the adult world through inquiry of those very much involved and it holds drastic consequence for all.

Sumptuously photographed (Gerry Fisher) and magnificently costumed The Go-Between evokes an almost fairy tale milieu in it's early moments with summer in full bloom and the well heeled Maudsleys lounging in finery amid the lush green trappings of their estate. The Empire in 1900 is still sun 24/7 and the Maudleys, confident and mildly aloof, representative of that power. Seen through the adolescent eyes of Marcus we are exposed to the hypocritical trappings of class snobbery, stuffiness and rules of the game. As things begin to unravel the lush lazy days of summer become more storm ridden and the restraint and decorum of the Maudsleys frayed all of which is powerfully summed up and splendidly depicted by Director Joseph Losey in a scene that begins with Leo's birthday party with everyone festooned in paper party hats.

Losey's understated style does a nice job of slowly revealing his story for maximum effect. His use of flash forward, confusing at first, is spare but well utilized to tie lose ends together. The overall morose mood of the film is retained throughout though Lalo Schiffrin's score reeking of hysteria threatens it on more than one occasion.

Christie and Bates, Edward Fox as Twillingham and the young Dominic Guard are excellent fits in their roles but Margaret Leighton as Lady Maudsley turns on the jets as the film closes and walks away with the acting honors.