Billy Liar (1963)

I had to read 'Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' for a sophomore college European Literature class; I was 21. Now, I'm 72 and lost the paperback somewhere along the way.....no major issue.Last night, I labored through 'Billy Liar' (on TCM) as I did 'Loneliness...' This film was aired during presentations of films dealing with people who have multiple fantasies. I'm one of those so I thought I would relate to the film. NOT! My fantasies turn into narrative and I write for a living. I don't make much in $$$'s but enough to supplement my measly social security benefit - which I earned, because I contributed to it for 45 years, contrary to people who live off welfare and food stamps.Despite making money off my fantasies, people still think I'm eccentric.The only redeeming value in this film is Julie Christie, who has the prettiest mouth (smile, especially) in the history of film. Tom Courtenay is a fine actor and I wish he would have been the lead in 'Catcher in the Rye,' which I'm not sure was ever made into a film. I still have the paperback of that book, which I also had to read. That book was great! I'll have to check to see if it was ever filmed. Was it written by Joseph Heller? Or, was that 'Something Happened?' I took a 'C' in the class and don't remember much about European literature but I've been to England often and people do have teeth.Incidentally, I do a lot of reviews for IMDb. Look for my review of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,' a 1947 film starring Danny Kaye. Soon, I will view the remake, directed by and starring Ben Stiller. Most remakes of good films are duds, but I don't see how one cannot exceed the quality of the 1947 version, which James Thurber (who wrote the short story)found repulsive, especially the slapstick antics of Danny Kaye. I don't blame him.

Although Tom Courtenay is the star of "Billy Liar" and gives an outstanding performance as this British version of a "Walter Mitty-like" character, it's a very young Julie Christie who steals the show. Her part isn't large and her on-screen time is limited, but Christie's free-spirited carefree role changes the dynamics of the film and challenges Courtenay's Billy Fisher to do something with his life besides living in a complex fantasy world of his own making. Fisher is mainly concerned with his standing in Ambrosia, a make-believe European country where he resides as military hero, dictator and all-around super human being. He's forever leading the parade in this imaginative world as his real life passes him by. In reality, Fisher lives in a drab northern English city and employed as an undertaker's assistant. He's a notorious and habitual liar and under-achieving in every facet of his existence---except one. He has more than one fiancée and is constantly juggling his lies to keep them at arm's distance. In the hands of a less capable director, Fisher's "problems" wouldn't elicit anything more than a yawn and a cheap laugh. But the great John Schlesinger is able to present Billy's story with a bundle of humor tinged with a whiff of sympathy. He's really a lost soul but doesn't know it yet. The ambivalent ending can be taken two different ways depending on the viewer's opinion. The final scene where Christie leaves alone on the train to London stays with you long after the final reel is over."Billy Liar" was Tom Courtenay's second major success after "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" was released the previous year. He followed this role with a lead part in David Lean's epic "Doctor Zhivago." He's kept himself busy with stage and screen work to this day and he's now "Sir" Thomas Courtenay. For Julie Christie, all the doors opened up for her after "Billy" and she continued on to international success. Her next film, also with Schlesinger directing, was "Darling" for which she took home the Academy Award for Best Actress. But seeing her in this first major role is certainly a treat. It's easy to see why she became one of screen's all-time leading ladies. Actress debuts don't come any better than Julie Christie's in "Billy Liar." John Schlesinger's career took off after "Billy Liar" and "Darling." He's probably best remembered now for directing Dustin Hoffmann and Lawrence Olivier in the thriller "Marathon Man."

Daydreaming Tom Courtenay (as William "Billy" Terrence Fisher) still lives with his parents, in a drab English town. Working class father Wilfred Pickles and housekeeping mother Mona Washbourne (as Geoffrey and Alice) worry about their son, as he seems to be going nowhere in life, and lives in a fantasy world of fabrications. A couple of locals have dubbed Mr. Courtenay "Billy Liar" due to his inability to put two truthful sentences together. Courtenay seems to be procrastinating his life away; he wants to be a writer, and certainly possesses a helpful imagination, but lacks motivation and focus.There are some universal themes in "Billy Liar" which must have been why it became such a 1960s favorite. Today, you have to watch it with patience. The film offers a more blatant, darker excursion into frustrated psyche than previously (notably, James Thurber's "Secret Life of Walter Mitty"). Herein, director John Schlesinger shows Courtenay, who imagines himself a military hero, slaughtering friends and relatives. On screen, these appear as flashes of thought. The symbolism works well; Courtenay works in a funeral parlor, where he's forgotten to send out some business calendars. Death and time.Mr. Schlesinger adapts the original Keith Waterhouse novel and play to film insightfully, with Denys Coop's black and white cinematography a great strength; their landscape parallels the protagonist's mind perfectly - sprawling, but desolate. Courtenay has dead-end relationships with virginal Helen Fraser (as Barbara) and brassy Gwendolyn Watts (as Rita). A ray of hope is provided by pretty Julie Christie (as Liz), in a lovingly placed role. Also impressive is Christie-contrasting grandmother Ethel Griffies (as Florence), who may be locked in the senility of her own imagination. Past and future. Life and death.******** Billy Liar (8/63) John Schlesinger ~ Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Mona Washbourne, Wilfred Pickles

Billy Liar is played wonderfully by Sir Tom Courtenay. Other cast members include Mona Washbourne, Leonard Rossiter, Julie Christie (who isn't a Dame) and Anna Wing. The story about a Northern British young man in Yorkshire who dreams about being king in a foreign land is quite understandable. Billy wants to escape his dreary existence from his parents and the small village in which he lives in. Mona Washbourne plays his mother. He has a great imagination but only if he could put it to use. He dreams of running away to start fresh but he's plagued by doubts, fears, and frightening of what might lie ahead. Julie Christie plays the girl that is going to London. The question is if he will join her too on this journey to a big city.