12 Films At Christmas - 3 & 4

An adaptation of one of my less favourite Shakespeares starring a pubescent Hollywood pretty boy ought not to float the good boat Overgraduate, but you would be wrong to assume this in the case of Baz Luhrmann's William Shakesperae's Romeo + Juliet. This is a seven out of ten jobby and definitely worth your time if you spot it on the schedules. Fast paced, noisy and not over-reverent is a style that suits the Bard.

And next comes another classic doomed romance, the oh so British and lovely Brief Encounter which I enjoyed re-watching on a newspaper free-gift dvd housed in the neat pile of such largesse in Anglesey. The whole thing simply reeks of thorough-going professionalism - not a wasted word or frame. It is interesting to compare its self-denying noble ending to the more modern and liberal treatment granted to the same material when rehashed in 1984 in Falling in Love - not of itself a bad film but not as good as the original.

Brief Encounter is at the very least a nine out of ten and belongs on those lists of films you must see before you die. Next time it shows up on the tele schedules I suggest you arm yourself with a bottle of red in a darkened room and treat yourself to the pleasure of 86 minutes of cinematic master craft.