Brief Encounter is a 1945 British film about the mores of British suburban life, centering on a housewife for whom real love (as opposed to the polite arrangement of her marriage) was an unexpectedly "violent" thing. It was directed by David Lean and stars Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. The screenplay is by Noel Coward, and is based on his 1936 one-act play Still Life. The soundtrack prominently features the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff, played by Eileen Joyce.