The father devotes his family's large but finite resources to the expensive legal battle, which eventually leads to the older son being brought home from Oxford, servants being dismissed and possessions being sold. The court case inspires newspaper headlines, popular songs, public demonstrations and debates in Parliament. It proceeds on the surface level of the film. And as John fades, Desmond's hopes grow. It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will chose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak one who goes along.
Strength demands intelligence, intelligence demands stimulation, and weakness is boring.
It is better to find a partner you can contend with for a lifetime than one who accommodates you because he doesn't really care. A line innocuous in itself, but electrifying in context. In a lesser film, we would be required to get involved in the defense of young Ronnie Winslow, and there would be a big courtroom scene and artificial suspense and an obligatory payoff. Mamet doesn't make films on automatic pilot, and Rattigan's play is not about who is right, but about how important it is to be right. There is a wonderful audacity in the way that the outcome of the case happens offscreen and is announced in an indirect manner.