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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Heart of the Matter is a faithful if somewhat austere adaptation of the same-named novel by Graham Greene. Set in Sierra Leone during WW II, the film stars Trevor Howard as assistant police commissioner Scobie. While his wife Louise (Elizabeth Allan) is away on vacation, Scobie falls in love with Helen (Maria Schell), the widow of a U-boat victim. Scobie would like to get a divorce from his wife, and she from him, but their Catholicism prevents not only this break but Scobie's planned remarriage to Helen. In despair, Scobie chooses a desperate means of solving his dilemma--which only furthers to exacerbate the religious quandary in which everyone finds themselves. Posing several ethical questions throughout its 105 minutes, Heart of the Matter wisely allows the viewers to come up with their own answers. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, Cannes Film Festival, ...The Heart of the Matter
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a good film as far as it goes, in that the acting is excellent and moving (particularly that of Trevor Howard and Maria Schell,with subtle performances from the supporting cast),and the steamy atmosphere of Colonial West Africa is well caught. However, it certainly lacks the depth and complexity of Greene's original novel - which I would urge anyone unfamiliar with it to read - and does not really do justice to the appalling tensions faced by the main characters, nor indeed to the undercurrent of menace which pervades the original book. The actors battle valiantly to convey these features but there just isn't sufficient material. Too much is omitted. However, despite the limitations it is a taut and entertaining drama and, despite frustrations, I enjoyed it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Set in West Africa during WWII, an unhappily married police inspector (Trevor Howard) in the British colony of Sierra Leone, who is a devout Catholic, struggles with his conscience when he has an affair with a recently widowed young woman (Maria Schell). This situation is only exacerbated when he is blackmailed by a diamond smuggler (Gerard Oury) into compromising himself. Based on the highly acclaimed novel (Time named it one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century) by Graham Greene, the film stays remarkably close to the novel (except for the ending) and is anchored by a compelling performance by Howard, who gets under the very skin of a man torn apart by his betrayal of his wife, his mistress, his job and his God. The change of ending from the novel is odd only in that the film's ending is just as bleak as the novel's, so why bother to change it? Directed by George More O'Ferrell, the film keeps the spirit of Greene's work while compacting it. The excellent supporting cast includes Elizabeth Allan (an English import at MGM in the 1930s) as Howard's wife, Peter Finch, Michael Hordern, George Coulouris and Denholm Elliott as an insufferable snitch in love with Allan.
The Optimum DVD from Great Britain is a nice, solid transfer.
The Optimum DVD from Great Britain is a nice, solid transfer.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
If you like Graham Greene then this film and the acting will not disappoint. Trevor Howard and the cast seem to be true enbodiments of the characters in the book. Rather as if one is seeing the real people that the author wrote about, rather than actors in a story.
The black and white film at it's best, where the narrative and the acting tell a story with authentic mood and the depth of character the writer creates in the book. "Heart of the Matter" is a study of personal interioral conflicts and finally the unbearable anguish of a difficult marriage that does not end happily.
The pressures of colonial life and the mental and geographical isolation that some officers and officials experienced are enacted by Howard with an uncomfortable realism, so that at the end of the film, even knowing the outcome the tragedy still has an impact.
The black and white film at it's best, where the narrative and the acting tell a story with authentic mood and the depth of character the writer creates in the book. "Heart of the Matter" is a study of personal interioral conflicts and finally the unbearable anguish of a difficult marriage that does not end happily.
The pressures of colonial life and the mental and geographical isolation that some officers and officials experienced are enacted by Howard with an uncomfortable realism, so that at the end of the film, even knowing the outcome the tragedy still has an impact.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
In Greeneland
Acting is fine, although the "wife" is a little overdramatic at times. Technically, image quality is good, although the sound is a bit muddy and indistinct sometimes. Read more
Published 14 months ago by jimbob
Not always "the second man"..
Trevor Howard is absolutely magnificent as Graham Greene's colonial policeman fracturally trying to do the right thing by his job, by the women in his life, and by his God. Read more
Published 23 months ago by "filmfogey"
The film did fulfil my expectations
Very often, films based on novels, do not correspond to the story and the atmosphere in the books. This one did.
Published 23 months ago by Johan Altersten
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