Rating: 
Summary: Poignant film in the mode of 'The English Patient'
Review: The End of the Affair, based on the novel by Graham Greene, is the sort of movie you don't often see any more. It is about a poignant love affair between two mature adults, one of who is married. It is about love, not about falling in and out of love. It is about the events in life that can end the affair but not the love. The movie does not succeed on every level, having at times almost the feel of a documentary, but it does succeed admirably in taking an in-depth look at a relationship. The movie starts at the end and works back and forth, but is never difficult to follow. The affair begins in London just before the start of W.W.II when successful novelist Maurice Bendrix [Ralph Fiennes] meets Sarah [Julianne Moore], wife of highly placed government official Henry Miles [Stephen Rea]. Sarah is a beautiful, intelligent woman in her 30s. Hers and Henry's marriage is one of those where love exists in a low key - neither platonic nor passionate. It is the type that lies just above a marriage of convenience. There is an immediate spark when Maurice and Sarah meet, and they soon act upon it. Henry is clueless because, lacking much sexual desire himself, he rarely sees it in other people. He also travels a great deal, and these factors allow the lovers to carry on an intimate relationship for several years. When it ends, it ends badly, as most affairs do. What is interesting here is that Maurice's logical assumption of why it ended is not the truth at all. When he finally discovers the real reason, it evokes a spirituality rarely seen in any movie, much less one about about illicit passion. The End of the Affair is a visually rich period piece. The sets, the costumes nand the photography masterfully evoke the look and feel of London in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In a brilliant use of color, the beautiful Ms. Moore is always costumed in either red or green, which makes her a stunning vision against the pastel sets and especially against the male characters, who are always dressed in dark colors. The acting is of the high caliber we have come to expect of movies produced in Great Britain. The characters speak the King's English, the dialect most easily understood by most Americans. Ms. Moore, in fact, hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, but she sounds thoroughly English to my rather provincial ears. While it is in no way as epic [or as long!] as The English Patient, The End of the Affair is similar in tone. It should appeal to many romantics over the age of twenty-five.
Rating: 
Summary: Buck Naked Brits!
Review: or at least that's what it seemed like to me, rather than an adaptation of a very fine novel by Graham Greene. Greene's novel was about people who had had an affair; the man was never sure why it ended, and he's hurting because of that. His love of her has now turned nasty and jealous--he even spies on her to see if she has taken a new lover. Ultimately he gets a big surprise, not at all what he was expecting. I suggest you read the book, because I'd bet you'll like it. Well, because I had liked the book, when this movie was released, I enthusiastically brought my friend Marion to see it. All the subtlty of Greene was lost. The only part the scriptwriter and director latched onto was "affair", so bingo! Butts, breasts galore. Heaving, hoisting. Wow, was my face red. I'm sure Marion wondered to herself whether there something about me she didn't know. Last time I'll ever get to pick the movie, I guess. This Fiennes guy, I just don't get it about him. I'm glad I'm not having an affair with him or even sharing a cubicle, which can be more personal even. Julianne Moore is beautiful--since I'm now a certified long-distance expert on her body I can make that claim without hesitation. I'm glad that I eventually saw her in "An Ideal Husband" where she was dressed and we were not distracted by anything else so that her talent could be properly appreciated. SO, if you're too timid to rent a Mickey Rourke movie, ask for this thing. If you want to find out about "The End of the Affair" go to the G section of the local library and get a book.
Rating:
Summary: There's something is extremely awful here
Review: Julianne Moore plays Sarah Miles! I never liked her and now I really hate her. She played with one of my favorite actor and her acting was just bad. She didn't understand that kind of emotion completely and she tried to cheat audience, and herself, maybe. These Americans...oh......she even didn't know how to walk and sit down. These girls are really interesting...like Uma Thurman, she was afraid of him, instead of being attracted to him. They didn't have something to help them to face some people.
Rating:
Summary: Great direction hampered by lackluster story
Review: This would have been a great love story if it hadn't been so serious. I could hardly wait for the next appearance of the excessively courteous private dick because he was such a relief from the one-note monotony of the Fiennes-Moore love affair. And somebody's gotta explain to me the husband's bewildering actions and motivations throughout the film. It's a shame the film wasn't better because the premise of the film is intriguing and I thought Jordan's direction was top-notch, particularly with his handling of flashbacks and alternate points-of-view.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull movie, but fine direction and scenery is worth it.
Review: This WAS a big disappointment for me. I would have expected a much more engaging, more dramatic movie. It's basically dull (...). Basically, I don't know why critics loved it so much. The only thing I liked was seeing Julianne Moore's bosom many times, plus because of the realistic look and feel of the movie. I would've expected a dramatic movie with a big climatic punch and a tear-jerking ending, and that would have made it so much better. Moore got an Oscar nomination for "Best Actress" in this sentimental drama, because she was the only actor in the movie that made it worth seeing. But Jordan also gets credit for the beautiful cinematography and the feel of being in the '40s of England. Rated R for sexuality/nudity, mild language and violence.
Rating:
Summary: passionate and poignant
Review: The beginning of this film sets the mood of the doomed love affair with "this is a diary of hate". The story is told through flask-back and might be confusing for a while. As a nonreligious person I was a bit uncomfortable with the religous/faith aspect of this film. That was my biggest problem and my other problem is with the unnecessary nudity. There were several love scenes that were strangely unerotic and out of place. The story of sara and Maurice was never fully explained and there were several loose ends.(such as how sara and Maurice fell in love and why sara chose to stay with Henry all those years) Overall this was a very touching and satisfying film. But it concentrates more on faith and other-worldliness than pure human love.
Rating: 
Summary: This movie is WRONG
Review: I sincerely dislike, detest this movie.... The explicit scenes in the movie are unnecessary and disturbing. The story line needs more developement. The movie would be better if the makers stuck to the novel more closely. -- the Dialogue is very crude. The choice of Jullian Moore as the lead role was WRONG. I would not have minded it, had it not been for her phoney accent and false face.-- Disapointed Ralph Fiennes fan
Rating: 
Summary: "Love doesn't end just because we don't see each other..."
Review: And it is with that same note of devotion, resignation, and hopeless we see the three main characters sink so beautifully into the abyss of this doomed love triangle. As with most of writer-director Neil Jordan's work, three main figures are involved, and the struggles between the relationships of the three are the source of tension, action, and absolute watchability. What makes the story even more devastating is the fact it is not purely fictional, but rather, based on novelist Graham Greene's own entanglement with a married couple. With World War II as the backdrop, despite the futility in the whole affair-debacle, the viewer can take some odd comfort in knowing love was still very much a part of man's driving force in such terrible times. As Ralph Fiennes so perfectly embodies Bendrix with his flirtations of atheism and wanton lust, Julianne Moore provides us with an adultress even the most moral could secretly admire. Stephen Rea does a brilliant job of portraying the non-complaining, true and steady English gentleman in the face of embarrassment and death. Each of the three face a personal inner struggle, but the one to watch is Moore in the role of Sarah Miles. By looking at her torment, we see another love triangle present in the story, and that is the one between herself, God, and Bendrix. "I've made but two vows in my life-- one was to marry Henry, the other was to stop seeing you (Bendrix), and I'm too weak to keep either." How many times have we all been faced with such realizations of powerlessness? The film is honest in its depictions of physical love, so spare the kids from seeing this one just yet. For the audience it was intended--adults who face the push and pull of life's choices--there is something for all of us brooding over a past choice which still needs to be "addressed."
Rating:
Summary: close your eyes!
Review: Way too much nudity. Julliane Moore is a big star these days, what with Hannibal and all, but all I can think of when I hear or see her is this movie, and I'm completely turned off. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even finish watching the movie. Maybe it got better, but it didn't matter because I couldn't watch anymore. Spare your eyes. Rent something less graphic.
Rating:
Summary: Not if You Really Love Graham Greene ....
Review: I love Graham Greene, and, since college, have probably read End Of The Affair a dozen times. I looked forward to this film and was impressed by the cast chosen to perform in this film. What a dud!!! I nearly went to sleep ..... Fiennes appeared ill the whole time and everyone else seemed like they couldn't wait to just go home. Terrrrribly dull.
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