Nice,comfortably middle-class humanitarian beautifully-spoken and with just a touch of mysterious sadness....how could any blossoming schoolgirl fail to have a crush on Laurence Olivier?As he battles against indifference and incompetence in what would today be called a bog - standard comprehensive,teaching his pupils personal realisation,Olivier strikes a chord in confused adolescent Sarah Miles who develops a crush on him and when he ever-so-gently (and rather nobly) rebuffs her,she throws herself at horrible yob Terence Stamp,openly snogging him in front of Olivier,whose reaction is beautifully portrayed. Not content with this she goes on to accuse him of having sex with her. His wife,the superbly sluttish Simone Signoret,has only contempt for him. Despite being cleared,she will only have him back if he admits that he was guilty after all. Olivier's film career was not unblemished,to put it politely.He tended to go where the money was in later years,preferring success de cash to success d'estime."Term of Trial" was a notable exception.No ludicrous accent,no scenery chewing,but a sensitive and moving performance. Sarah Miles is fragile,desperate and hateful by turns,I don't believe she was ever so good afterwards,despite some high-profile roles. The 7 vote is for them rather than the film ,which is well- intentioned and a bit plodding where it could have been sharp and telling. As a study of the crucifixion of a decent man it works well enough. But generally speaking it is less than the sum of its parts.
Review of Term of Trial
