The Astonished Heart

Wasn't gripping, though, the very subdued acting certainly made some emotional moments strong, and there was certainly a line or two that landed great.

Witty writing (by star Coward) elevates sudsy melodrama to something special; performances are also distinguished, with Coward especially standing out as the terminally 'unsure' doctor; while he and Leighton make for an unlikely romantic coupling, this does make the inevitable disintegration of their relationship powerful and plausible; it's interesting to see Johnson on the other end of a 'brief encounter'; indeed, the film often resembles the darker, flip-side of Coward's earlier romance.