Review of The View from Pompey's Head

Married New York City lawyer with Southern roots returns to his hometown in Georgia strictly on business, managing to dig up secrets from the past as well as rekindling a distant romance. Despite some flashbacks near the beginning, a lean and straightforward adaptation of Hamilton Basso's book (its inelegant title changed to "Secret Interlude" overseas). The film manages to skirt overwrought melodrama with help from a literate screenplay by Philip Dunne, who also directed. However, with themes of interracial relations and extra-marital intimacy, the picture really shouldn't be so plodding. The performers are well-cast (and their divergent accents aren't a big distraction), but the blaring music by Elmer Bernstein seeks out more intensity on the screen than what we're getting, especially during the romantic clinches. Handsome film is well-produced, yet the plot is merely routine. ** from ****