How sad is this?

Disappointment for a huge fan!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

I'm a long distance runner, I love film, and appreciate British cinema, so I thought I check this out. It was not at all what I was expecting! It is a no-nonsense story about the class system and society of Britain in the late 50's and early 60's as told through the experiences of one young man who due to his success in distance running gets a chance to break away from the label society has put on him elevate himself to an other place and yet refuses. Tom Courtney is really good here. The B&W cinematography is wonderful, as is the sound/score. On one hand it's very much representative of Britain at this time and yet I feel the story is still very relevant to this day in Britain and here in America. Overall this is an interesting and thoughtful film.

I've seen this film a few times over the years. When I was younger I could relate to Colin Smith to some extent, having spent 10 years in an authoritarian boarding school in my youth. However, I now tend to look at it with a more critical eye.It puzzles me that Sillitoe chose to use the word "loneliness" in the title, since Smith obviously gets some pleasure and comfort from his running. I don't know the answer but perhaps the "loneliness" means "isolation" or "alienation". A barrier that simply can't be overcome.The governor of the borstal actually strikes me as being quite a kindly man, and seems to have some genuine interest in Smith's welfare. Perhaps he feels that by showing the borstal boys that they can compete favourably with boys from more privileged backgrounds it will help to break down what they may view as an impassable (and possibly unjust) class barrier and give them some confidence going forward in life.In the case of Smith, this turns out to be a complete failure. Like his father before him who proudly spurned medical attention (and died soon afterwards - there's no pride like the pride of the poor!), he spurns the opportunity to take himself out of his condition. Though this no doubt gives him some momentary satisfaction, he will probably look back on it with regret in the grim grim years that lie ahead.Whatever Sillitoe intended, it still has power and relevance today.

A poignant exploration of the British class structure in the 60s as well as a study of the disillusionment of the 'angry young man' of the working class. The story is interesting, but the direction as well as the musical choices at times is a bit weak. Nevertheless it's still worth recommending.

Adapting Alan Sillitoe's short story, director Tony Richardson comes up with one of the best of the British "kitchen sink" dramas. In an astounding film debut, Tom Courtenay plays a wannabe thug sentenced to reform school after being pinched for a burglary. School headmaster Michael Redgrave discovers Courtenay's cross country running skills and attempts to use him to beat the more elite "public" school. While running, Courtenay recalls the events that led him to his sorry existence: his saucy, recently widowed mother, his clingy girlfriend, his attempt at petty crime. Courtenay is excellent and the supporting cast is first rate. Redgrave is great as one of of the by-the-book English stiffs whose callous attempt at exploiting Courtenay backfires. John Addison's bare bones music score & Walter Lassally's stark B&W cinematography add a lot. Featuring Alec McCowen, Avis Bunnage as Courtenay's mum, and Dervis Ward as very persistent cop.