widescreen

The legendary John Schlesinger (Yanks, Marathon Man, Midnight Cowboy) made his feature film directorial debut with this bittersweet and beautifully acted drama about a young draughtsman, Vic Brown (Alan Bates), whose life comes apart at the seams when he begins a relationship with typist Ingrid Rothwell (June Ritchie).

Ingrid falls pregnant, and thanks to the interference of their friends, neighbours, and - worst of all - her tyrannical mother (Thora Hird), they are forced into marriage. Ingrid's subsequent miscarriage and the strain of living with the mother-in-law from hell, means that the relationship quickly sours. But the couple decide to persevere in the hope of finding 'a kind of loving'.



viewer's comments:


- A tribute to John Schlesinger
In retrospect the British New Wave of the 1960's, although exciting at the time, has worn rather less well than the equivalent movement in France. Nevertheless it threw up some talented directors such as Lindsay Anderson, Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz and John Schlesinger each of whom gave us at least one memorable work. The British cinema can be proud of such films as "This Sporting Life" (arguably the finest work by the group), "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" , "A Taste of Honey" and "A Kind of Loving". In paying tribute to John Schlesinger who sadly died recently, I would have chosen "Yanks" from the '70's as the film of his that I love and admire the most, but having written about this already it is not hard to find a second choice, "A Kind of Loving" which contains some of his best work. Let's face it, none of this group of directors maintained their early promise, although, of them, it was Schlesinger whose successes spanned the longest period with "Yanks" the finest of the middle period and the two short films about Burgess and company, "An Englishman Abroad" and "A Question of Attribution", incomparably witty diversions dating from the '80's and '90' respectively. In between and at the end there were a few disasters including arguably the worst ever Oscar winner, "Midnight Cowboy", but rather than linger on these it is to "A Kind of Loving" that I return with affection. The British New Wave tended to favour North country settings possibly because of the visual poetry that can be extracted from factory chimneys, those sad northern parks and cemeteries and mean terraced houses that are more difficult to find in abundance in the south. It was a romantic approach to landscape eschewed only by Lindsay Anderson in "This Sporting Life" which is today somehow more powerful possibly because of its plainness. Nevertheless films such as "A Kind of Loving" and "A Taste of Honey" are rich in visual delights and atmosphere which give pleasure to this day. It would be wrong however to assume that the attitudes and the picture of society they present are specifically Northern. Class prejudices and insular social attitudes existed all over Britain and many of them are still prevalent today. In one important respect have attitudes changed, that of tolerance towards sexual freedom. There is still a certain amount of homophobia but nowhere near as much as there was a half century ago; likewise the small island mentality that accounts for xenophobia, but this is decreasing as people travel more. "A Kind of Loving", putting aside its northernness, is possibly the film that portrays more than any other just what it was like to live in a working-class area of Britain around the mid-point of the 20th century. It will be a wonderful document for future historians of the period to study. It starts with a shrewdly observed proletariate wedding with Alan Bates as best man shepherding various family groups into cars following a similar shepherding act by the wedding photographer. Although the scene takes place outside the church it is socially claustrophobic as are all the scenes where people come together, the works canteen for instance or the ghastly works social where the boss pays lip service to the philanthropic host image. Even the scene in the smoky haze of a cinema has its own peculiar claustrophobia. As for the domestic scenes these are the worst of all. Alan Bates is trapped into marriage after getting his girlfriend pregnant. (He goes into a chemist to get some condoms but comes away with a bottle of lucozade - a tiny scene but so significant in highlighting the embarrassment that social attitudes towards sexual behaviour could cause at that time). His claustrophobia is complete when he is forced to live with his wife in the house of the mother-in-law from hell - one of cinema's most frighteningly odious characters brilliantly played by Thora Hird. I dread the moment when Bates drunkenly vomits on her carpet almost as much as the rejection of James Dean's birthday gift to his father in "East of Eden", both are scenes that are almost too excruciatingly embarrassing to watch. But Bates rises above adversity and the final scenes of getting away from mother-in-law offer the hope of fresh beginnings. As a picture of a man trapped by the attitudes and values of his time, "A Kind of Loving" has few equals. It is for this and "Yanks" rather than some of his more widely acclaimed films that I will remember John Schlesinger by.



- socially perceptive
This film reflects on how social and economic pressures impact on sexuality and relationships. Class, politics, working life, changing attitudes about gender and marriage, and even scarcity of cheap housing are all referred to or explored. Against the wider social backdrop the character of Ingrid's mother represents repression and rigidity to a large degree, although even she is shown with some saving graces. All the characters here are cast in shades of grey, all internally conflicted, all in a cauldron of social pressures. The film ends with the maturing of the main characters, and also with a note of hope. An excellent script, excellently directed and acted, and a brilliant evocation of another era.



- Boy oh boy
This is a wonderful exploration of a young man's misgivings about being attached. It explores issues of manhood and love with great sincerity and sensitivity. Alan Bates is at his best here and the whole cast hits the mark under a careful eye. I think it is optimistic in its depiction, but most of all honest. The language is impeccable. How can you go wrong with lines such as "I am your husband if you did but know it"? Whistle Down the Wind is another with Bates in top form. Worth a look.




Alan Bates .... Vic
June Ritchie .... Ingrid
Thora Hird .... Mrs. Rothwell
Bert Palmer .... Mr. Brown
Malcolm Patton .... Jim Brown
Gwen Nelson .... Mrs. Brown
Pat Keen .... Christine
David Mahlowe .... David
Jack Smethurst .... Conroy
James Bolam .... Jeff
Michael Deacon .... Les
John Ronane .... Draughtsman
David Cook (II) .... Draughtsman
Norman Heyes .... Laisterdyke
Leonard Rossiter .... Whymper


Runtime: 112 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Black and White

Alan Bates did this film the year before he did the film version of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker