The Long Memory

source: The Long Memory

Moviecut—The Long Memory

The Long Memory

So much to like about this beautifully photographed film which is a credit to its talented cast and production team. John Mills leads with his convincing portrayal of a tortured soul and is supported by character actors of the highest calibre. In particular, John Slater, John Chandos and Harold Lang all put in dark, unnerving performances which will live long in the memory. The bleak, slightly eerie setting and scenery is the other star of this great movie. A must see for any film fan.

I caught this on film four a couple of weeks ago and thought it was excellent. It is a painful story at times, watching John mill's former lover grappling with her guilt, often physically is portrayed with undignified desperation. Her husband, the investigating officer quietly torn apart by the realisation of his own hand in a miscarriage of justice and his subsequently crumbling home and professional life. John Mills' constant struggle to realise a revenge that has torn him throughout his years in prison and an inability to exact that revenge. He shows, without being sanctimonious, how damaging and unfulfilled revenge is and the characters around him prove that redemption is always hard won.

With its clunky dialogue, dodgy acting and funereal pace, this revenge 'thriller' would appear to have little going for it. What drags it out of the ordinary is its wonderful sense of location. This is way ahead of its time - it would be another 7 years before 'Room at the Top' ushered in that brief period of gritty social-realist dramas that would make the inner city landscape so familiar to cinema audiences. In 'The Long Memory', the desolate mudflats of the Thames estuary are used to brilliant effect to convey the spiritual desolation of Davidson, while the run-down streets and shabby domestic interiors of Gravesend vividly conjure up the dreariness of 1950s Britain.

John Mills tracks down the real culprit of the murder he was sent to jail for in this tense British drama of exile and return. The real murderer is now a comfortable businessman, and the visual contrasts between his dubious offices in the London docks and Mills' derelict boat far out on the river estuary gives a resonance to the film it would be hard to find in a modern setting. Freed from jail but still imprisoned by the past, Mills' character spurns the touching companionship of another refugee on the Kent marshes (Eva Bergh) about whose past we know nothing, but it seems to be destiny that has brought them together. This is one of the few films that resolves a labyrinthine revenge-story without the plot becoming mechanical, and the bleak monochrome visuals are part of its emotional power.

This is an excellent British film, which has managed to pass the test of time, and still stands today as an absorbing & well executed piece of work. The story line is strong, and the locations are particularly memorable, especially the bleak & foreboding Kent coastline which adds significantly to the brooding atmosphere. The performances are uniformly excellent, with the sole exception of Elizabeth Sellars who barely changes expression throughout. John Mills gives one of his most intense performances in the lead role, and demonstrates once again what an extremely fine actor he always was. The direction & editing are first class, and the film never falters in holding the attention. For fans of the genre, this is not to be missed.

Crime, punishment, revenge, love and redemption are the big themes of this short movie. The moral bleakness surrounding John Mills, as a man unjustly jailed and now seeking revenge, is reflected in the powerfully stark black and white landscape images which accompany the action. But the issues are far from black and white - the guilty, the innocent and even the investigating policeman are all caught up in the moral dilemmas explored by this clever and thoughtful script. Ultimately all the characters learn that punishment can take many forms, in a conclusion which is both gripping and surprising. It's not light entertainment, but don't be put off by its serious tone and gritty subject matter. Once seen, this movie will live long in your memory.