Long Ago, Tomorrow

I recently obtained this video from and envisioned that I was going to see the ubiquitous boy-meets-girl scenario. I was far wrong because what I ended up viewing was a more interesting and realistic portrayal of two people caught up in a crossfire between their feelings towards each other and the deterrents that nearly prevent them from fulfillling it. I must commend Malcolm McDowell for portraying the surly but tender male lead in a performance that is truly a step beyond his trademark stormy and negative characters. Nanette Newman,too, should be rewarded for playing the fragile and compassionate heroine.

It's a shame that Long Ago Tomorrow was virtually overlooked upon its release in 1971- hopefully, if more folks other than myself will see this picture, it may get the recognition it is due, significantly, for honestly portraying paraplegics as normal human beings like everyone else.

Healthy soccer player in England loses the use of his legs. I liked this because he's one of those guys who's a gifted soccer player, loved in school, lots of friends, get's all the girls, & the brother expected to succeed. For someone popular like this to all of a sudden come down with an incurable disease & wham he can't walk is quite the shocker. He has an interesting family which makes you laugh & before he loses the use of his legs, his older brother gets married. They have a pretty big wedding, with some funny moments between family members. He has a bad attitude & applies to go into "one of those places for cripples". He barely looks at anyone & gives only the bare minimum verbal responses. The place he goes in is really nice & he eventually starts to open up & make friends with the other cripples. Pretty good story & what I particularly appreciated was that when he falls in love with a girl in a wheelchair, the story doesn't ever get corny or mushy lovey dovey or show embarrassing sex scenes. Just a very realistic portrayal of life for two people in love in wheelchairs.

This was the first film I ever saw with Malcolm McDowell - my brother and sister-in-law took me to see it. It was also the movie that I fell in love with an incredible actor. The role was something I would have never thought someone like him could pull through, yet he did and brilliantly. I applaud the story writer - beautiful way to portray a disabled person - showing that just because you can't walk doesn't mean you aren't capable of love. I highly recommend this movie to those who have never seen this great actor in such an inspiring role.

I can't say that I am really a fan of Malcolm McDowell. He always seems to play an angst-ridden "victim" of something, and here is no different. He ("Bruce") suffers a debilitating injury whilst playing football, and is now wheelchair bound. His working class family have no idea how to care for him (nor much interest, either) so he is shipped off to a care home, ostensibly, for more specialist care. Depressed and dejected, he meets "Jill" (Nanette Newman). She is also confined to a chair, and engaged to a fiancée who is loyal but increasingly full of little love - or lust, just pity. As the two start to bond, they discover a rebellious nature and a sense of optimism which lifts both of their spirits. That's about the height of the story, it is simple and straightforward with little effort made to fill the plot with faux scenarios. The supporting cast - Bernard Lee and Georgia Brown amongst them, offer us honest and plausible characterisations as those around them must also do some adjusting of their own. It has a sadness, a relentlessness to it, which is complimented well by the steady pace of the film and an effective score from Stanley Myers - both of which allow McDowell to offer up one of his better, more considered and empathetic performances. Newman is adequate. I found she always had a slightly soporific tone to her voice which I never really liked and which sometimes rendered her conversations about more serious matters (here it is sex and longing) hard to absorb. There are no rose-coloured cottages for people here, as the ending demonstrates - and that, too, adds a degree of authenticity to this story that is curiously depressing yet uplifting at the same time.

Ultimately this is just another love story with all the typical plot elements, but the physical disabilities of the protagonists add an interesting twist, and the material is handled well by the cast, the director, and in fact, all concerned. The pacing of the film is deliberately slow, as are some of the pans, which effectively sets up the mood of the film. Blues are used well in the film also, and there is some careful framing to show the characters against different trappings. The music serves to establish the mood as well, and the film is hardly ever maudlin - the sentimental factor is balanced well, except in the final twenty minutes. Lastly, Nannette Newman and Malcolm McDowell both deserve to be praised for their acting here. Each of them has their own share of solid drama to handle, and they both do a good job, but McDowell in particular, who perfectly captures the resentment and depression that his character feels. Overall, it is just another romantic drama, but it is still a film well done.