Accident

Plot

The complex relationships among an Oxford professor, one of his students, and the young woman who captivates both of them is the subject of this difficult but rewarding drama. Director Joseph Losey and writer Harold Pinter had previously collaborated on 1963's The Servant, and they surrounded this recasting of a Nicholas Mosley novel with a similar atmosphere of ominous mystery. The story is presented through flashbacks and disconnected memories that trace the characters' interactions. Though the mood is occasionally brightened by satirical views of the academic world, the overall effect is rather somber, concerned with missed opportunities, unhealthy obsessions, and unavoidable regret. Dirk Bogarde superbly captures the pensive professor's torment, with able support from Jacqueline Sassard and Michael York as the younger couple. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Review

To enter into the world of Harold Pinter is to enter into a land where meaning is best distilled not from what one sees and hears on the surface, but by what is buried underneath. Famed for his "pauses," Pinter has a remarkable talent for dialogue, but it is dialogue which masks inner meaning, in the same way that most people use words to disguise their honest thoughts and desires. Accident is filled with small talk, meaningless conversations, and idle chatter, but the extreme emotion underneath the words constantly threatens to explode. The viewer is not always certain of why characters feel a certain way, but he knows that they do indeed feel something and feel it strongly. The disconcerting tension this creates is echoed by Joseph Losey's direction and Gerry Fisher's expert cinematography, with frequently skewed or bizarre angles and a tendency to dwell on a scene just a little too long. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a better team to shepherd Pinter's work to the screen. Dirk Bogarde is superb as a professor with a midlife crisis; he knows full well every detail of this character's life, more so than the character itself does, and he knows when to pull out the stops and when (and how) to pull back. He gets good support from Stanley Baker and Michael York, perhaps less so from Jacqueline Sassard, who does not seem as engulfed in her character. (This could, of course, be a conscious decision on her and Losey's part.) Almost humorless, Accident is an intense but amply rewarding experience. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Dirk Bogarde - Stephen
• Stanley Baker - Charley
• Jacqueline Sassard - Anna
• Michael York - William
• Vivien Merchant - Rosalind

Delphine Seyrig - Francesca; Harold Pinter - Bell; Alexander Knox - Provost; Ann Firbank - Laura; Brian Phelan - Police Sergeant; Freddie Jones - Frantic Man in Bell's Office; Nicholas Mosley - Hedges; Jane Hillary - Receptionist; Jill Johnson - Secretary; Terence Rigby - Plainclothes Policeman

Credit

Carmen Dillon - Art Director, Beatrice Dawson - Costume Designer, Joseph Losey - Director, Reginald Beck - Editor, Johnny Dankworth - Composer (Music Score), Gerry Fisher - Cinematographer, Joseph Losey - Producer, Norman Priggen - Producer, Harold Pinter - Screenwriter, Nicholas Mosley - Book Author

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