Rating: 
Summary: beautiful romantic tale
Review: One of the great joys in movie watching lies in stumbling across films that, by their very nature, should be nothing more than clichéd, hackneyed versions of stories we have seen a thousand times before yet, somehow, through the insightfulness of their creators, manage to illuminate those tales in ways that are wholly new and unexpected. Such is the case with Neil Jordan's "The End of the Affair," a film that in its bare boned outlining would promise to be nothing more than a conventional, three-handkerchief weepie centered around the hoary issue of romantic infidelity, but which emerges, instead, as a beautiful and moving meditation on the overwhelming force jealousy, love, commitment and passion can exert on our lives.Ralph Fiennes stars as Maurice Bendrix, a British writer living in 1940's London, who has an affair with Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore), the wife of Maurice's friend, Henry (Stephen Rea). Based on a Graham Greene novel, the film achieves far greater intellectual and emotional depth than this skeletal outline would indicate. Part of the success rests in the fact that both the original author and the adapter, writer/director Neil Jordan, have devised a multi-level scenario that utilizes a number of narrative techniques as the means of revealing crucial information to the audience regarding both the plot and the characters. For instance, the film travels fluidly back and forth in time, spanning the decade of the 1940's, from the initial meeting between Bendrix and Sarah in 1939, through the horrendous bombings of London during World War II to the "present" time of the post-war British world. This allows the authors to reveal the details of the affair slowly, enhanced by the even more striking technique of having the events viewed from the entirely different viewpoints of the two main characters involved. "Rashomon" - like, we first see the affair through the prism of Bendrix's limited perspective, only to discover, after he has confiscated Sarah's diary, that he (and consequently we) have been utterly mistaken as to the personal attributes and moral quality of Sarah all along. Thus, as an added irony, Bendrix discovers that he has been obsessing over a woman he "loves" but, in reality, knows little about. The authors also enhance the depth of the story through their examination of TWO men struggling with their overwhelming jealousy for the same woman and the complex interrelationships that are set up as a result. In fact, the chief distinction of this film is the way it manages to lay bare the souls of all three of these fascinating characters, making them complex, enigmatic and three-dimensional human beings with which, in their universality, we can all identify. Bendrix struggles with his raging romantic passions, his obsessive jealousy for the woman he can't possess and his lack of belief in God, the last of which faces its ultimate challenge at the end. Sarah struggles with the lack of passion she finds in the man she has married but cannot love as more than a friend, juxtaposed to the intense love she feels for this man she knows she can never fully have. In addition, she finds herself strangely faithful, if not to the two men in her life, at least to two crucial commitments (one to her wedding vows and one to God) yet unable to fully understand why. Henry struggles with his inadequacies as a lover and the strange possessiveness that nevertheless holds sway over him. Even the minor characters are fascinating. Particularly intriguing is the private investigator who becomes strangely enmeshed in the entire business as both Bendrix and Henry set him out to record Sarah's activities and whereabouts, a man full of compassion for the people whom he is, by the nature of his profession, supposed to view from a position of coldhearted objectivity. (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?). "The End of the Affair" would not be the noteworthy triumph it is without the stellar, subtly nuanced performances of its three main stars. In addition, as director, Jordan, especially in the second half, achieves a lyricism rare in modern filmmaking. Through a fluidly gliding camera and a mesmerizing musical score, Jordan lifts the film almost to the level of cinematic poetry; we sit transfixed by the emotional richness and romantic purity of the experience. "The End of the Affair" takes its place alongside "Brief Encounter" and "Two For the Road" as one of the very best studies of a romantic relationship ever put on film.
Rating:
Summary: A gentle movie!
Review: This movie was a touching love story. Even though most love stories are lame this one was a strong-flavored movie. I think it is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Prepared as I was to adore the remake of the 1955 version (in which the lover is, for some unfathomable reason, an American reporter rather than an English government functionary), I was crushingly disappointed with the remake. Grahame Greene's whole premise was distorted by having the Julianne Moore character meet secretly with a priest to help her resist the temptation to return to her lover.
Greene's story is of a woman, baptized but not a practicing Roman Catholic, who seeks counsel from an atheist in order to convince herself that her vow (to end her affair if her lover's life is spared) is of no worth. Her eventual loss of the will to live is directly related to her inability to divest herself of her conviction that she must never again see the man she loves. The implication is that her baptism "took." Despite her not consciously adhering to Christian tenets and her wishing to justify ignoring her vow, she is somehow compelled against her will to keep it.
Disrespecting the author's intent insults the intelligence of the audience. Did the producers see viewers as incapable of comprehending how convoluted such rationalization can become? Or did they themselves fail to understand what it is to have a deep conflict of conscience? The irony of the story is utterly lost in translation! Tsk. Tsk.
O Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson, come back. All is forgiven.
Rating:
Summary: Rather a surprise
Review: As a big fan of Ralph, I was looking forward to The End of the Affair. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this movie is dreadful. Ralph is a brilliant actor, but not even his flawless acting can't compensate for the nonsensical plot and the horrific casting of Julianne Moore. What happened to Moore? It is NOT hard to learn a British accent. From the sounds of it, Moore didn't even try. She sounds so American she fails to convince anyone she has an ounce of English in her. And if that weren't bad enough, the plot is as unconvincing as Moore's accent. She's an adulteress, but miraculously heals a young boy's facial disfigurement and brings Ralph back from the dead. Even the priest admires her--adultery and all! Her husband does not know the meaning of jealously and lets Ralph live in the house even though he knows of the affair. Still amidst the unbelievable, the plot is so predicatable. She coughs a few times here and there. So we know (before anyone in the movie figures it out) that she's dying. We also know why she "ends" the affair long before its "revealed" to Ralph. And by the way, what was with all the nudity? Totally unnecessary and vulgar.
Rating:
Summary: A superlative film in every way
Review: Neil Jordon, the director, remarked 'END OF THE AFFAIR is about England and rain and God.' His adaptation of what is perhaps Graham Greene's greatest (and most autobiographical) novel is one of the moving depictions of God and faith that can be found in any motion picture. The fact the movie can grapple with God and faith in such a moving way, and at the same time be such an adult, ambiguous and intelligent feature makes it even more profound. The movie is remarkably intelligent. It also has an intricate time shifting structure that is so well crafted one doesn't even give a thought as to just how difficult a feat Jordon pulled of narratively. The film also works as a great mystery: Why did Julianne Moore's character break off her affair with her lover, and who is the mysterious third man she is seeing and Ralph Fiennes hates so much? Top notch in every regard, from the filmmaking, the beautiful score, and three terrific performances from Moore, Fiennes and Stephen Rea (particularly good.) It is rather awe inspiring to note that Moore, who here plays a good woman who gradually becomes a saint, filmed this movie back to back with MAGNOLIA, where she plays such a ravaged, crazed woman completely the opposite from the character in this movie. She truly has become of of the greatest actresses of our time.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: A great story of love lost, and the belief in God found. As in the Lord of the Rings, some parts of the book had to be changed for the story to work in a movie format (I think the book is one of the best stories ever written). But the movie still is great. Most of the reviews missed a couple of the key points in the movie. 1. The story is about Sarah not really believing in God until Bendrix is believed to be killed. She prays to God that she would give up Bendrix for the mircacle of him living. When he comes up, that is her proof that God exists. 2. There is a subplot of a return back to God by Sarah and her desire for a Catholic burial. This doesn't work as well in the movie because of a change in the plot from the book (read the book and you will understand). 3. Bendrix, another unbeliever, finally believes in God, because there is no way such hatred of his could exist unless God really took away his love. All this and more wrapped up in great story of love and betrayal. If you loved the movie, read the book; you'll love the book more.
If you didn't understand the movie, read the book; you will appreciate the movie once you understand some of the subtle points.
If you hated the move, go watch Gigli.
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