THE BROWNING VERSION

THE BROWNING VERSION (Directed by Mike Figgis. Starring Albert Finney, Greta Scacchi, Mathew Modine)

A pointessly updated version of a classic English tale of repression. Well, aren’t all classic English tales about repression? It is the thing the English do best, preferably on perfectly manicured lawns, and over the china crockery. The Browning Version is, of course, immaculately acted, with the usually expressive Albert Finney doing his level best to repress all his natural instincts. He is a retiring schoolmaster, despised by most of his pupils, afraid that his wife is having her crumpet on an extra-marital basis, and unable to rise above his own sour instincts. Terrence Rattigan’s play was set in 1930, and despite the introduction of a few ethnic faces and the odd modern line (I’m sure “Fuck off!” wasn’t in Rattigan’s original script) it remains bogged down there, trapped in a world where adultery is shameful and the classics of literature were considered an almost vital part of education. Transposed to our time, Finney seems archaic, even silly, yet he succeeds in creating a moving portrait of a man who is his own worst enemy. Fine fare for fans of Merchant Ivory and Masterpiece Theatre, but frankly, I’ve seen it all before, and I didn’t like it then either.