The Passionate Friends/YMMV

• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Mary. This might have to do with the passing of time and changing values, or deliberate ambiguity from the film-maker. Mary's refusal to 'belong' to anyone was apparently supposed to come across as independence, and her feelings for Steven as true love. However, all we see is a woman who causes pain to both men in her life by refusing to emotionally commit to either of them. Her 'grand passion' also looks very much like the adolescent daydreams of a bored housewife. The character comes across as pretty cold, too, so it's hard to sympathise with her.