Contains spoilers

Based on a novel by L.P. Hartley, 'The Go-Between' is set during a hot August in late Victorian or Edwardian England. (References to the Boer War suggest that the year is 1900 or 1901). Leo, a twelve year old schoolboy has gone to stay with his school friend Marcus Maudsley and his wealthy family in their stately home in the Norfolk countryside. Leo meets Marcus's older sister Marion, who is secretly having an affair with Ted Burgess, a local farmer. Marion needs to keep this relationship hidden from her parents, who would not approve of Burgess as a potential son-in-law, partly because they regard him as being a social inferior, partly because he has a reputation (possibly undeserved) as a philanderer and partly because they are encouraging her to marry another suitor, the rich aristocrat Hugh Trimingham. In order to keep her secret, Marion needs a messenger to take messages between herself and Ted; she cannot trust the servants, whose first loyalty is to her father, so she enlists Leo as the 'go-between' of the film's title. Leo is ideal for this purpose; he is from a middle-class background less affluent than the Maudsleys and is too much in awe of the beautiful, sophisticated Marion to think of disobeying her. Moreover, his youth and innocence about sexual matters mean that he does not understand the full implications of Marion's friendship with Ted.

Throughout the film there are occasional scenes set at a later period in history- the late forties or fifties to judge by the clothes and vehicles that we see. These are initially very brief glimpses- lasting only a few seconds- but we later see more of this later period, including scenes of the now-elderly Marion and the middle-aged Leo.

The weather plays an important part in this film. The latter-day scenes are shot against a backdrop of grey, overcast skies. The turn of the century scenes, however, mostly take place against a background of sunshine and fierce heat. There is much evocative photography of the English countryside, the pale, sun-bleached colours capturing the dried-up, dusty look of a late summer heatwave. (The subdued tones of this film tend to set it apart from the richer colours of other examples of 'British heritage cinema' such as the work of Merchant Ivory. It is interesting that both Joseph Losey and James Ivory were American rather than British by birth). Although there are plenty of open vistas (Norfolk is one of the flattest parts of England),there is a stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere. The pace of the film is, for the most part, leisurely (the English upper classes rarely do anything in a hurry, particularly during hot weather),but there is always a sense of movement, slow but inexorable, towards some fateful denouement, a sense heightened by Michel Legrand's urgent, insistent musical score. (The scoring is reminiscent of a late Romantic piano concerto). Just as the hot weather is building up towards an inevitable thunderstorm, so the relationship between Marion and Ted is building towards a tragic climax. When this climax finally comes and their secret is revealed, it does so on a day of torrential rain after the weather has broken.

It is perhaps an interesting comment on changing climatic patterns that in the film a temperature of 83 degrees Fahrenheit (which today in Southern Britain would be regarded as a normal warm summer's day) is regarded as a record-breaking heatwave. In 1970, a year coming at the end of two decades of cool, rainy summers, hot weather was not something taken for granted, even in August.

One of the main themes of the film is an examination of the social class structure of the period. This structure is more subtle than a simple rich/poor divide. The Maudsleys, part of the landed gentry, are not quite aristocrats; Trimingham, a peer of the realm, is the genuine article, so they see his marriage to their daughter as a step towards social advancement. The family's attitude towards the bourgeois Leo is somewhat condescending as though he were a 'poor relation', but Leo's family are clearly not poor in any absolute sense; if they were, his widowed mother could not afford to send him to the same private school as Marcus. Even Burgess is probably comparatively prosperous- Norfolk contains some of the richest agricultural land in Britain- but his lowly social origins, betrayed by his rustic accent, and his status as a tenant count against him.

There are a number of excellent acting performances in the film, particularly from those two iconic sixties figures Julie Christie and Alan Bates as the doomed lovers, Margaret Leighton as Marion's obsessive mother whose prying precipitates the tragedy, Dominic Guard as young Leo and Michael Redgrave as the older Leo. The one thing I did not like was the use of the twenty-nine year old Christie to play the older Marion; even the use of make-up and low-level lighting could not make her a convincing seventy or eighty, and the film would have been improved by casting an older actress in the part.

Dominic Guard did not go on to make many more feature films, but the other major film in which he starred was Peter Weir's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' five years later. There are a surprising number of parallels between the two films; both are set during a period of oppressive summer heat around 1900, both have a similarly claustrophobic atmosphere, and both deal with emerging female sexuality and with the Victorian/Edwardian class system. 'The Go-Between,' which is more realistic and less mystical in tone, is not quite on the same level as Weir's masterpiece, but it is nevertheless one of the best British films of the early seventies. (There are also parallels with the only other film in which Bates and Christie acted together, John Schlesinger's adaptation of Hardy's 'Far from the Madding Crowd'. With its rural setting and story of love between people of different social classes, Hartley's novel clearly shows the influence of Hardy). 8/10

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.