James Mason was always quite good with the more cerebrally menacing roles he played, and here is no exception. He is "Geoffrey" married to the timid "Charlotte" (Dulcie Gray) whose life he makes a misery. She has two sisters who also feature in this compendium style story - Phyllis Calvert is "Lucy". Her marriage is happy, but they have no children, and then there is "Vera" (Anne Crawford) who is a bit of a selfish piece of work. The film interweaves the stories of their lives from their late teens until adulthood and immerses us well in the choices - good, bad - or downright terrible - that they make. The interlaced nature of the narrative keeps the stories developing in a well paced, engaging fashion with the three ladies on good form and Mason delivering an almost toxic characterisation as the truly unpleasant bully. It's not always easy to watch, which I think is a testament to the taut direction, but is well worth staying with for just short of two hours.

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