Do you know anything about the British New Wave? Fans of cinema have probably heard of the legendary French New Wave. Who knows about the Soviet New Wave? All these were national trends, which were an integral part of the pan-European process of rethinking cinema as forms, methods and tasks, which solved this art form. These paintings finally touched upon themes and issues that had been either left out or simply ignored as if they did not exist. Thus, the object of young British filmmakers was the “working class”, its private life, attempts to build its future. One of the brightest examples of such a movie was the dramatic film by Jack Cardiff “Sons and Lovers”.
Synopsis England, early XX century. In a small coal mining town lives the family of Morels. Its head Walter devoted his whole life to working in the coal mines, while his wife Gertrude raised their three sons. Each of the sons of Gertrude treats with special trepidation, so when the eldest son marries and leaves his father’s home, and the middle one tragically dies during an explosion in the mine, all her attention turns to the younger Paul, who with all love and tenderness relates to his mother, but dreams of knowing the depths and secrets of women’s souls without her participation, especially when several young people appear on the horizon, with whom Paul has secret affairs.
The film has a rather strong and talented cast. First of all, I would like to mention Dean Stockwell as Paul, a gifted young man who is just entering adulthood, learning the first experience in solving women’s secrets and experiencing the first bitter experience in love and the loss of a loved one. I really liked the performance of Wendy Hiller as Gertrude Morel, the mother of the family and the keeper of the hearth, who did not receive attention from her husband, and therefore decided to give all her love to her son, trying to keep him at her shoulder, despite the fact that thereby caused him discomfort. It is also worth noting Trevor Howard as the head of the family, Walter Morel, a rude and daring hard worker who devoted herself to work and survival to the point that killed any ability to express love and respect. Also worth mentioning is Mary Ure as Clara Dawes, a married woman who first finds true female happiness with Paul, even though she realizes she can never be with him forever.
For his time, Jack Cardiff made a truly non-trivial movie in which he touched on issues and topics that previously could be considered indecent or insignificant to touch. In fact, “Sons and Lovers” is the story of the formation of an adult from a once young man. There's a lot going on around him. People appear and disappear in his life. Somewhere luck lights his way, and somewhere he must go through pitch darkness alone. He knows love, knows the parting, knows the death of his native person, in order to finally cleanse himself of all that he has experienced, to start his life again.
The plot takes place in a small mining town somewhere in the west of England. In the center of the plot is the family of Morels. Their youngest son Paul dreams of becoming an artist and demonstrates a real talent that needs adjustment and professional training. In parallel, Paul has a close friendship with the neighbor’s girl Miriam, which does not like his imperious mother Gertrude, for whom Paul becomes the meaning of life, especially when the eldest son gets married and leaves the house, the middle one tragically dies in the mine, and the husband does not express even a bit of love, arranging only fights and scandals at home. Meanwhile, Paul participates in an exhibition where his painting attracts the attention of a wealthy philanthropist, who invites the young man to invest in his training in an art school. So, Paul gets a way into a busy life, where he meets a variety of people, including women, relationships with whom change his perception of the world around him.
In fact, Sons and Lovers is a pretty good movie about life, relationships and growing up in general. Although the film may seem a little boring, because there are no bright events in it. However, it still has a number of advantages, including visual and musical, as well as acting, which together make an extremely pleasant impression. So I just want to recommend the movie.