Pete Travis's 'The Go-Between' (2015)

In this episode, I talk about Pete Travis's dreamy 2015 film, "The Go-Between," produced by the BBC, based on the classic L.P. Hartley novel of the same name, and starring Jim Broadbent, Vanessa Redgrave, and Lesley Manville. It focuses on a 12-year-old boy named Leo Colston who, in the summer of 1900 in England, goes to stay at the opulent estate of his friend, Marcus Maudsley. During his time there, Leo becomes the messenger, or go-between, for Marcus's sister, Marian, and her secret lover, Ted Burgess. After the summer, none of their lives will ever be the same and Leo will be forever haunted by what he experienced. I talk about class, nostalgia, loss of innocence, and the devastating wounds of childhood. At the beginning of the episode, I also discuss how cinema has helped me cope with trauma. This episode contains spoilers.

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Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley
• My Call Me By Your Name Episode
• My Maurice Episode
• My Real Women Have Curves episode

All My Sources

• More about L.P. Hartley
• Ali Smith's review of "The Go-Between" (The Guardian)
• The Go-Between: How the BBC Re-Made a Classic (The Telegraph)
• -The Go-Between, BBC One, review: 'Deeply moving and true' (The Telegraph)