The Suspense is Killing Me

The 1947 adaptation of Brighton Rock is a dark, thrilling film complete with suspense, violence, and romance.  Graham Greene himself co-wrote the screenplay, and his methods of exposition match those of his fiction.  Brighton Rock depends heavily on dramatic irony, taking the audience from one character’s viewpoint to another’s.  Though Pinkie is clearly presented as Fred’s murderer, the gradual uncovering of evidence by Ida Arnold contributes hugely to the rising action of the film.  The convergence of initially separate plot elements leads to a very exciting climax.  However, the film’s success in plot development is equaled by a total failure in character development.  Pinkie maintains the same blank expression for almost the entire duration of the film, changing only at the end to sheer terror when he faces capture.  Rose continually stands by Pinkie, almost to the point of death, not for any moral reason but simply out of naïveté.  As a result, their relationship never really progresses anywhere.

Although the final scene serves only to reinforce Rose’s naïveté, dramatic irony still makes it a satisfying conclusion (1:29:45).  Earlier in the film, Pinkie gives Rose a record of his voice as a sick sort of wedding gift (1:03:25).  His blunt statement, “I hate you, you little slut,” confirms that his only motive for marrying her is to keep her quiet.  However, as a result of his previous attempt to destroy the record, it never gets to that point when she plays it back.  Instead, it skips back to “I love you,” ensuring that she never realizes his true feelings.  The playing of the record provides a huge buildup, even after Pinkie’s suicide, as the audience awaits his crushing line.  The Catholic imagery, however, presents some issues.  It is a nun who consoles her, and the final shot focuses in on a crucifix.  Does it mean that God endorses Rose’s complete obliviousness to Pinkie’s intentions?  Is her refusal to accept the facts a sign of “hope,” as the nun puts it?  Both Pinkie and Rose are Catholic, yet their senses of morality have serious flaws.  Through the inclusion of these elements, Greene points out the uselessness of the Catholic Church’s moral teachings.

The style of cutting from viewpoint to viewpoint has a parallel in The Power and the Glory.  At the start of both works, few names are given, and the protagonist is not revealed as such until later on.  This results in much initial confusion, as one tries to decipher dialogue and identify characters.  In Brighton Rock, the audience has to follow the individual plotlines of Pinkie, Ida, and Rose; they all at one point have information that the others are missing.  In a similar way, all the characters who encounter the whisky priest in The Power and the Glory have different experiences and understandings of him.  The audience or the viewer has to assemble these pieces in order to get the full picture.