Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Fallen Idol (PG)

Demetrios Matheou
Sunday 30 July 2006 00:00 BST
Comments

The Fallen Idol, made in 1948, a year before The Third Man and also scripted by Graham Greene, is one of Carol Reed's most satisfying films.

Ralph Richardson stars as Baines, a butler in the Belgravia residence of the French ambassador, whose touching friendship with his employer's young son - to whom he is a virtual father figure - is compromised when the boy stumbles on his adulterous affair.

It is, in part, a thriller, as Baines's abominable wife also gets wind of the fling. Yet the film succeeds most of all as a study of trust and deception, and of how a child's grasp of truth and lies is at odds with the adult world's altogether different understanding. It's a lovely film, with a terrifically nuanced performance by Richardson that conveys the conflict between genuine care and self-interest.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in