Brilliant, is what I say. Terence Rattigan's 1950 play was filmed once before (and while I have not seen it, I can't think it would be more effective than the new version) but the current film puts the lie to our weird nostalgia for the "Keep Calm and Carry On" era. This movie is cool, efficient and heartbreaking. And it is directed with an eye on Rattigan's increasing stature. When one character goes on a John Osbourne style rant, we are not meant to fall for this particular Angry Young Man. Of course, Rattigan wrote it just before the Angry Young Man began storming the British stage. It shows he was gearing up for the onslaught. Rattigan is often mistaken for a conventional dramatist, but his explosions are deeper than Osbourne's, perhaps because he himself (Rattigan) doesn't cultivate anger. He knew how and when to use it.
Review of The Deep Blue Sea
