The End of the Affair

Rating:
Summary: End Of Movies
Review: On a rainy London night in 1946, novelist Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) has a chance meeting with Henry Miles (Stephen Rea), husband of his ex-mistress Sarah (Julianne Moore), who abruptly ended their affair two years before. Bendrix's obsession with Sarah is rekindled; he succumbs to his own jealousy and arranges to have her followed. As the investigation progresses, we learn the reason for their separation. During a bombing raid, Sarah struck a bargain with God to sacrifice their relationship-in exchange for Bendrix's life. When Bendrix reappears in her life, Sarah realizes that her promise to God has become impossible for her to keep.

Rating:
Summary: Eloquent tale of love and hate.
Review: "This is a diary of hate," writes Maurice Bendrix, beginning the narration of "The End of the Affair," a highly sensual and emotional melodrama that takes place during 1939 in war-torn England, where two people will discover a love that can resist all boundaries, even that of marraige. Through the intensely creative eyes of director Neil Jordan, the story of this love comes to life through artful cinematography, a highly impactful story and complex characters that weave the vivid web of desire and chance.

Henry and Sarah Miles, who live in England, share nothing but a house and words, no intimacy or words of love. One night at a party, Sarah in introduced to Maurice Bendrix, one of her husband's acquaintances, who is a novelist whose books become motion pictures. There is an immediate attraction, and after spending an afternoon and evening together, they embark on a lustful and passionate journey into the depths of love and devotion. When the war makes its way to their city, they are only able to see one another in the shelter of the exploding bombs and air raids. One day, Sarah walks out of his life, telling him that "Love does not end, simply because you do not see me." After two years, Bendrix and Henry cross paths again, and Henry confesses his suspicions of his wife's adulterous actions. Bendrix becomes determined to discover the secrets Sarah is hiding, all the while falling more and more in love with her again, and what he discovers will lead to a shocking revelation for the both of them.

Based on the novel by Graham Greene, who is supposedly the person that Maurice is based upon, "The End of the Affair" is a gorgeous and almost lyrical tapestry of events that all fall into place like a canvas of pastels. Jordan uses flashbacks and memories to tell a major part of the story, with Maurice narrating each event as he is writing his memoirs. As he recounts the events that lead to he and Sarah's reunion, the characters are able to develop complexity and integrity, and the audience can fully appreciate and understand the actions they take and the emotions they feel.

Neil Jordan's own sense of style comes to play in the film as well, with his use of multiple flashbacks and certain color schemes. It is raining most of the time in the movie, which adds to the coldness and isolation that the characters feel when they are separated from one another. He is also able to bring to life the city of London during the war, with authentic building structure and the elegance of aristocratic homes and public places.

The story, while being quite simple, is made incredibly complex by the affair, and in turn makes the movie strikingly original. When their affair is abruptly ended by Sarah, the intensity begins as Maurice begins his search for the answers he has been waiting for for two years. He takes the audience along with him on this journey, and through the narration of different characters and the exploration by his private eye, we learn the secrets of Sarah's heart and her reasons for leaving. This also leads to Maurice's inner conflicts with God, his disbelief in Him, and Sarah's coming to terms with her religious background and beliefs.

Of all the characters in the film, Sarah is the most complex and attention-grabbing. In the beginning, she seems normal and content with her life, even when she begins her affair with Maurice. She knows that she loves him and not her husband, which proves that she knows her heart. But, as the film progresses, we soon learn that their is another side to her, one that is not easy to explain. This has to do with her reasons for leaving Maurice, and what she feels for him after leaving. Julianna Moore does a stunning job portraying all of these emotions, and fits the role perfectly. Ralph Fiennes is remarkable as Bendrix, and is able to convey the jealousy and possessiveness of him in a straightforward and believable manner. Stephen Rea, while not having a lot of onscreen time, plays the role of Henry wonderfully, though his character is nothing more than downcast and trodden most of the film's duration.

Visually stunning, highly sensual and emotional, "The End of the Affair" is an entertaining and complex journey along the path of the unknown chambers of one's heart. Once everything falls into place in the ending, we realize that there was so much more going on than we originally thought, how different people react to different events, and the overall quest to gain the love and affection everyone looks for in life.

Rating:
Summary: another superior movie with ralph fiennes
Review: a wonderful moving film with today,s most outstanding actor,ralph fiennes. you wil be a part of this sensual grahmn greene's novel. a must for any dedicated movie lover. a beautiful film

Rating:
Summary: Could have been excellent
Review: The End of the Affair (Neil Jordan, 1999)

I don't think there's a single person on earth who hasn't seen a Neil Jordan film by this time. The man's popularity and influence are so far-reaching that it sometimes seems you could travel to the wilds of Timbuktu and hear people talking about the twist ending of The Crying Game. The man is a master, there's no getting around it. So why is that you can hand him one of the finest novels to come out of England during the twentieth century and a cast with four of Britain's heaviest hitters in its four lead roles and still come up with such a pointless, meandering film?

To be fair to Jordan (if that's possible), The End of the Affair-- first filmed in 1955 with Van Johnson and Peter Cushing in the roles played here by Ralph Fiennes and Stephen Rea, respectively-- is an astonishingly difficult novel, and its somewhat unconventional structure (the climax comes just under halfway through) makes the transition to film a nightmare if the director focuses on the wrong parts. And for the first hour of this movie that's exactly what Jordan does. While any excuse to show off Julianne Moore in as little clothing as possible is certainly worthwhile, there doesn't seem to be any other reason for its existence. She has more onscreen charisma in a bulky trenchcoat for the ninety seconds she appears in Chicago Cab.

It's at the novel's climax where the Jordan magic falls into place. Starting at that point and travelling through the last hour of this film, it's riveting. Everything comes together. (Julianne Moore keeps her clothes on. This may not be coincidence.) The chemistry that was nonexistint between Fiennes and Rea is suddenly there and powerful. Ian Hart, last seen as the long-suffering son in Longitude, starts making the audience realize what an incredible depth of talent he has. In other words, the last hour of this film is brilliant. Too bad most casual viewers won't survive the first hour. ** 1/2

Rating:
Summary: Good but not as good as I'd hoped
Review: No one is a bigger Julianne Moore or Graham Greene fan than I am, but, even though I did like this movie and will see it again, I expected more. (No, I'm not going to play with homonyms here.) What disturbed me about the sex was that we didn't know the two characters at all, really, before they started stripping and grinding. It was antiseptic and off-putting. Rea's character had no shading, and I suspect it was more the script than the actor; he became boring not because he was supposed to be (although he was), but in addition to that. Moore was very good, but I think she's outdone her work here many times (see Safe, Vanya, Short Cuts, Magnolia). And oh my gosh, even if the movie had sold me from the first frame, I don't think my admiration could have survived that demure little cough in Brighton, which reminded me instantly of Carol Burnett's take-off on Ali MacGraw's doomed heroine in Love Story.

Read the novel. Play the soundtrack, which is lovely. And yes, watch the film, but with moderate expectations.

Rating:
Summary: Would have been less without Moore
Review: Director Neil Jordan had some big shoes to fill, adapting a Graham Greene novel(the "Third Man" remains unchallenged as the ultimate Greene-to-screen).So how do those shoes fit? A tad tight, I'm afraid. I do applaud ANY intelligent, literary, ADULT film in this age of Hollywood's mallrat demographic targeting, but you still need to pump a little (figurative) blood into it to keep it entertaining, and this pic runs a tad anemic. Ralph Fiennes displays his usual craftsmanship, and Stephen Rea continues his apparent indentured servitude to director Jordan, but it is the luminous presence of Julianne Moore(heiress apparent to Meryl Streep) that ultimately saves the film. She even keeps the syrupy, overbearing music score at bay when onscreen. Fiennes' best moment is tacked on at the end, in a brilliantly written, well-acted monologue concerning blind faith vs pragmatism. Worthwhile, but leaves you wishing they had done a little more with it, considering the talent involved.

Rating:
Summary: Addendum to Roland Zwick's Review
Review: Roland Zwick's review of The End of the Affair fails to take into consideration the numerous errors in Jordan's story-telling, particularly when he writes that 'One plot flaw does, however, show up here: why would this man, whose job it is to spy on unsuspecting people for his clients, employ a boy to help him who sports a very distinctive birthmark on one side of his face?' Good question indeed. But let's remember that when Greene told the story there was a character called Mr Smythe (and no, not the priest) who had a birthmark on the side of his face, which went away when Sarah kissed him. Young Lancelot Parkis had no birthmarks, just a very bad tummy-ache.

Rating:
Summary: Stolid period romance.
Review: Neil Jordan has long been a hit-and-miss director. "The Cyring Game", "Interview With The Vampire", "The Butcher Boy", "In Dreams" - up, down, up, down. The one thing I admire about Jordan is his willingness to tackle films so varied in subject. That admiration, however, is not reason enough to excuse his plodding efforts here. "The End of the Affair" is the definition of cinematic frustration - a film which had potential for brilliance yet wallows in the middleground due to Jordan's stolid direction and distinct lack of emotional depth.

A film examining a love affair can never succeed if the audience never witnesses the emotional strength of said relationship. Julianne Moore's beautiful, Oscar-nominated performance is dragged down by Ralph Fiennes' inability to relate even the simplest of emotions. Fiennes' plays every scene with the same "English Patient"-esque dullness audiences love to hate. All this transpires while Stephen Rea's pathetic caricature stands watching in the background, having no valid reason to be on-screen beyond the opening minutes - had the film not been based on a novel I would have bet money that Rea's role was written purely as an excuse to have him appear in yet another Neil Jordan film (this one's number eight).

Michael Nyman's beautiful score is wasted. His ability to subtley evoke emotion jars with the onscreen action so badly as to give the impression it was written for another, far better, film.

Dying for a period exploration of a tangled love triangle? Do yourself a favour and buy "The Wings of the Dove" instead.

Rating:
Summary: Not the real end of the affair
Review: While this is a beautiful film to watch, and the acting superb, it is, as they say, The Real McCoy. Jordan's film adaptation of Greene's novel is more adaptation than anything else. While the start of the film follows the novel closely enough, the end strays away from the text, and the story, rather abominably. Films based on novels need not always follow the novel to the letter, sometimes it's impossible, but in this case, Jordan's changes make the film a weaker vehicle for the story that Greene wrote. The clincher, the fact that Sarah gives up after making her promise to God, and not only goes to bed with Bendrix, but accompanies him to Brighton, makes us wonder whether Jordan thinks he is a better story-teller than Greene. But alas he isn't. The tremendous irony on which the novel is based, that God takes Sarah away from Bendrix without a word, and that she kept her promise all the while hating it, is lost, and the film begins to ooze Hollywood rather than Clapham Common in the blitz.

Still worth watching, and more than once might I add, the film does a good service to Greene by making more people read his novels, not only The End of the Affair. Fans of Ralph Feinnes, especially, will enjoy the film, as he is again cast in the role of the melancholy English adulterer (cf The English Patient), and his intelligent interpretation of his character and of the text helps to save this film from being a total washout.

Rating:
Summary: A Touching Film, One of 1999's Best
Review: Upon seeing this film in a quiet Culver City theater, it left an impression that was difficult to shake. Perhaps it was Michael Nyman's score, which is flowing with emotion from the onset of Columbia's torch bearing lady. Maybe it was the trio of wonderful performances from Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, Schindler's List, Strange Days), Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights, Safe, the upcoming Hannibal), and Neil Jordan perennial cast member, Stephen Rea (The Crying Game, The Butcher Boy). Ian Hart is also effective in a quaint detective role, serving as some kind of bystander to all the drama in the trio of lead characters.

Jordan's commentary mirrors my feelings toward this piece; a story wrought with so much irony that the story is reduced to characters clinging to their memories and need for godliness in their empty lives. After their lust recedes, the need for depth arises. And this is where a bulk of the story takes place.

If you see this film and care to see a similar one, I highly recommend Atom Egoyan's "Exotica". Both have excellent mood evoking photography from Roger Pratt, BSC, and Paul Sarossy, CSC. They also have a similar theme of people finding redemption in the midst of their decline.