Customer Reviews

Separate Lies

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Nigel Balchin's maze-like novel 'A Way Through the Wood' has been adapted by Julian Fellowes who also directs this 'terribly British' drawing room suspense piece. It is a film whose effect relies on the cast portraying the varyingly benign/malignant characters and it is here that Fellowes' directorial choices are superb. The story has a linear line that is easy to follow, but the beauty of the film is the metamorphosis of each player as a single incident ignites a minefield of disasters.

James Manning (Tom Wilkinson) is a successful business obsessed solicitor in London, married to Anne (Emily Watson) who needs more in her life: the couple being childless live in the country in a beautiful estate, assisted by their long term 'cleaner' Maggie (Linda Bassett). They attend social outings and meet, among others, William Bule (Rupert Everett), the passively lazy wealthy neighbor. Anne decides they should entertain their neighbors and against gruff James' protestation Anne proceeds with planning: James arranges to 'not attend due to business'. On the night of the party there is a hit and run accident in which Maggie's husband is accidentally killed by someone in a Range Rover (she observed). When James returns home he sees a scratch on William's Range Rover and suspects William to be the perpetrator. Anne discourages James from going to the police with the information -'what possible good can it do but ruin Bill's life as a socialite and father and son of an important scion?'. From this first 'lie' the virus spreads: James confronts Bill who talks James out of going to the police, Anne confesses it was she who was driving Bill's Rover and is the one responsible, James convinces Anne to keep it quiet because it would ruin his reputation, Anne confesses she is having an affair with Bill, and the three of them concur that they will stick together on their big lie for the sake of the greater good. Anne eventually succumbs to the guilt of not telling her beloved Maggie that she is the one responsible and Maggie, herself guilty of a previous theft whose life was saved by Anne's mercy to hire her anyway, is the agent who draws the story to its surprising conclusion. Lies begat lies that begat lies, et cetera.

The major impact of this intrigue is the manner in which the isolated tragedy impacts each of the characters involved. Each changes in a dramatic way. Tome Wilkinson gives the finest performance of a career filled with brilliant performances: he is able to say more with his posture and facial expressions than about any actor before the audience today. Likewise the gifted Emily Watson adds yet another fine role to her repertoire as does the surprisingly smarmy Rupert Everett who, despite being yet another wealthy British 'gentleman', gives us a man both arid of spirit and yet ultimately needy. And the always-fine Linda Bassett takes a small role and finesses it making her character quietly central to the chaotic web of lies.

The cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts and the musical score by Stanislas Syrewicz add immeasurably to the multiple atmospheres the story encounters. This is ensemble playing at its finest, which always means that the director (Julian Fellowes) has a fine grasp on the piece. The interplay of these fine people makes the dodgy story work very well indeed. Grady Harp, February 06

This is a delightful semi-thriller that explores several themes. A tragic hit and run accident provides a test of ethics for the main three protagonists. The movie asks the question do we protect someone we love from the consequences of that person's actions? It is almost amusing to see the ethical about face of one of the cast when it is discovered that the driver is someone else than the person thought to be the guilty party. An adulterous affair complicates the plot, and the movie explores the resulting anguish of the participants.

At the beginning of this review I stated that the movie is a semi-thriller. The three main characters are involved in events that cause an increasing state of tension as the movie progresses, but I really feel that the director wasn't trying to make a thriller at all. The emotional struggles of the the trio are what's really important. One reviewer commented that the movie dragged. When I watched it I marveled at the tight editing of the movie. Many scenes seem to last only a minute or less, and none of them contain any unnecessary material.

One thing that surprised me though, is that a certain aspect of the plot simply vanishes later on in the movie. Aside from that I really felt that this was a well crafted film.

Julian Fellowes, in his first film as director (he wrote the screenplay here and for "Gosford Park") films the beginning of "Separate Lies" as an idyllic ode to England: a Cricket match, beautiful gauzy shots of the English countryside, stately country manors, titled gentry in white cricket attire and lounging in tweeds and woolens. For all intents and purposes based on the first 10 minutes, "Separate Lies" could have been set in 1915.
But then Rupert Everett shows up as William Bule and we are thrust forward 90 years in a matter of seconds as he insinuates himself into the plot and the marriage of James and Anne Manning (a mannered and slightly off her game, Emily Watson and an excellent Tom Wilkinson...when is someone going to mount a production of "Death of a Salesman" for this guy?)
We are in the infidelity arena in "Separate Lies" and no one makes a film about infidelity like the Brits: think "Damage" with the terrific trio of Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche and Rupert Graves and the now almost forgotten, "Betrayal" (shamefully only available on VHS) with Irons again, Patricia Hodge and Ben Kingsley. Unfortunately, "Separate Lies" is neither up to the task nor the excellent quality of these two films.
Though the action gets more intriguing and interesting as the movie moves towards its ambiguous and ironic denouement, the film loses steam as a punctured balloon loses air and deflates and this can only be blamed on the flaccid editing.
Rupert Everett's icy, loose and entitled performance is a great foil for Wilkinson's sweaty, worried and jittery performance: their scenes together crackle with wit and fire.
The almost always excellent Watson's Anne is problematic. She doesn't seem to grasp the core of her character and her performance is at times right on and at others, not.
"Separate Lies" is a good not a great film. It starts off like gangbusters, full of life and vigor and then seems to lose its way artistically. But despite this, Fellowes nonetheless displays talent and a distinctive point of view: things that are not easy to come by among the new crop of film makers.

Opening with idyllic shots of the English countryside in a wealthy neighborhood "Separate Lies" follows the disintegration of what appears to be a perfect marriage on the surface between a London solicitor James Manning(Tom Wilkinson), his wife Anne (Emily Watson) and Bill Bule (Rupert Everett in a cool performance) a mysterious wealthy stranger just returned from New York. When a local is killed in a hit and run accident suspicions fall on Bill. Manning pursues the case and uncovers an unsavory aspect of us life when he opens the door to try and convince Bill to do the right thing.

A well made combination of character study and thriller Fellowes' film reminds me quite a bit of "Betrayal" with the emotional twists and turns the character must go through. All three main actors give terrific performances but Wilkinson's slow burn performance takes center stage. There the resemblance ends as the plot thickens ends as Manning, Anne and Bill are drawn further and further into a whirlpool of deceit. Anchored by a trio outstanding performances "Separate Lies" does what English dramas do best and Hollywood rarely can do anymore-create a drama focused on the characters and their world.

"Separate Lies" features robust, bold colors that look marvelous in this transfer. The transfer has remarkable clarity and detail with no digital or analog artifacts that I can detect. Fox has pulled out all the stops in putting together the look and sound for this DVD. The 5.1 mix sounds quite good although it's not designed to use the format to best effect the surround speakers are used for subtle sound effects.

Unfortunately we don't get much in the way of extras here just the original theatrical trailer and a commentary track however the commentary track by writer/director Fellowes is quite detailed with incredible insight and wit. This is one of the best commentary tracks I've heard so that makes up for the lack of other extras. Deleted scenes and outtakes would have been a nice edition to the film particularly with a trio of such terrific actors driving the drama in this film.

Although this dramatic thriller won't be to everyone's taste, "Separate Lies" manages to be an involving, powerful drama with a trio of terrific performances. Those interested in a thought provoking morally complex drama will enjoy this film. Keep in mind this is much more in keeping with some of Hitchcock's more thoughtful, quiet thrillers than the over-the-top or larger than life thrillers that tend to dominate the theaters today.

We had the pleasure of meeting Emily Watson a couple of years ago while working out at our neighborhood gym. She's a lovely girl, and we talked with her for quite sometime about her life and her career, so when a new movie of hers comes out, it's a real event for us. But nothing prepared us for her phenomenal performance in Separate Lies, Julian Fellowes' devastatingly bleak examination into the moral morass of betrayal, illicit sex, hypocrisy, and crime.

What a tangled web of secrets and lies that we weave, at least one would think so after watching this beautifully acted movie. Relying on a few crucial characters, soothing locations and precise storytelling, without a shot or line of dialogue wasted, Fellowes has created a perfect chamber piece, an intense look at a flailing marriage and an accidental crime seen through the eyes of three people.

James and Anne Manning (Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson) are leading a seemingly idyllic life, as an English upper-middle-class couple. James is a highly respected and successful international solicitor, while Anne is his loving and ostensibly happy companion. They are childless for reasons that are explained later in the story.

Trouble starts when James suspects that a neighbor, Bill Bule (Rupert Everett), the indolent and lazy son of a peer, is to blame for a hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of the husband of the Mannings' cleaning lady (Linda Bassett). James takes the chap out to lunch and politely informs him of his suspicions, but is appalled when Bill feels no remorse when he casually commits to the crime.

Anne adds more fuel to the fire, when that night at home; she tells her husband that there is more to the incident. Anne was not only involved, but she is also having an affair with Bill. The ever so righteous James is of course devastated, and the rest of the movie charts his decent into emotional hell, a web of lies and deceit, as he must not only lie to protect his wife and his marriage, but also cope with her infidelity.

James is at once on the same and opposite side of Bill, his dark rival. This devilish twist gives Separate Lies not only its dramatic juice but also turns it into an intriguing study in morality. James is plagued with moral ambiguity, and as he sorts through the wreckage of his marriage, he discovers he's just as guilty of lying to himself as his errant wife - who achieves an unassuming heroism that has nothing to do with looking right for the neighbors - is of deceiving him.

As the couple in distress, Wilkinson and Watson are both pitch perfect, with Wilkinson in particular, absolutely astonishing in his ability to convey weakness and strength, hypocrisy and gallantry, cruelty and compassion. He's a man who embodies everything, unexpectedly passionate and actually human in this very particular, very entangled drama.

And what of the lovely Ms. Watson? Well, she's tremendous as Anne, the wayward and somewhat bored housewife, who sacrifices the comfy cottage and the shared silverware for a reckless affair with a feckless man who doesn't really love her. Rupert Everett is also terrific as Bill - his handsome face strangely sculpted into a disturbing mixture of beauty and excess - as the "louche hauteur" of the bored and wealthy British upper crust.

Each actor manages to capture the subtle nuances of people who have wholly different ideas about wedded bliss. Where James sees an orderly and upright life, Anne sees impossible demands and standards to which she will always, somehow, fail. Which makes her highly susceptible to Bill's bad-boy sexuality and his gruff, lazy, and ultimately self-indulgent ways.

The cinematography is evocative and gorgeous, with Tony Pierce-Roberts supplying lovely, pristine images of London, Paris, Wales and the bucolic Buckinghamshire countryside. Alison Riva's sets and Michele Clapton's costumes give the film a well upholstered though lived-in look, and Alex Mackie and Martin Walsh's editing is unusually crisp and affected. This is British filmmaking at its outstanding best, full of fascinating layers of emotional complexity and moral ambiguity.

But Separate Lies is most notable for the astounding performance of Tom Wilkinson, who has a way of portraying several emotions at once that puts you inside even the least endearing of his characters. He gives a performance that's at first totally unsympathetic and alienating, and then tremendously moving, as James undergoes the most painful and tender transformation of his life, as he must learn to give up the thing that he loves the most - his wife. Mike Leonard October 05.

In this quietly powerful movie, a profoundly moral man is faced with a terrible decision, one that becomes increasingly complicated as the story evolves. Successful solicitor James Manning (Tom Wilkinson) has always followed a strict moral code, one that chafes on his all-too-mortal wife, Anne (Emily Watson), who believes he sets impossibly high standards that she will always fail. Attracted to a divorced heir recently returned to the English countryside, the charming, if jaded Billy Bule (Rupert Everett), Anne allows herself to be seduced. Returning home to host a cocktail party after a couple of drinks with Billy while her husband is in London on business, Anne and Billy are involved in a hit and run accident. The victim is Mr. Pierce, the husband of the Manning's housekeeper.

Manning's determined pursuit of the perpetrator leads to unexpected revelations, the most devastating that his wife was driving the vehicle in question. Suddenly the solution becomes personal and Manning's reputation and marriage is on the line, not to mention his anxiety for Anne's well-being. Surprisingly, it is Anne who cannot bear her own failings, riddled with guilt, not because of the affair she fails to end, but because of her betrayal of the widow, Mrs. Pierce, who refuses to believe Anne is at fault in spite of her abject confession. It is the housekeeper's forgiveness that shames them all, freeing them to attend to the business of living, the Manning's attempt to heal a flawed marriage: "She was tired of feeling guilty, so in the end she stayed." When Billy is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Anne fails her husband once more, leaving to minister to the man she loves, the torrid affair turned more tender by necessity.

The juxtaposition of emotions is delicate and thoughtful, the weight of personal guilt palpable, especially for Manning, who is so finely tuned to his moral compass, the one impediment to a successful marriage with a faithless woman. Ultimately, Bule dies and the Manning's come to terms with their loss of one another, moving on to separate lives, but with the peace of having gone from anger and resentment to a common forgiveness. The one act of violence that changes the direction of the Manning's lives is supplanted by a more compassionate view of the human condition and the peril of lies and infidelity. Beautifully nuanced, Wilkinson's performance stands out and Watson is perfection as the not-so-young, conflicted and unhappy wife of a very moral man. Luan Gaines/2006.

Last week I was watching the episode of "American Idol" where the judges tell the guys and gals who has made it to the dozen of each gender who get to compete for the "final" twelve spots (i.e., the ones who get to go on tour). The most dramatic moment came when Mandisa, who watched the audition show where she tried out and heard what Simon Cowell had to say about her weight after she left the room, had a chance to confront him. The gist of her remarks to him was that she was hurt by what he had said, but that she had forgiven him and that her apology was not dependent on his apology, which he eventually got around to making. A couple of weeks ago Shaquille O'Neal, after a talk with Bill Russell about how hate is not a necessary element to competition, talked to Kobe Bryant for the first time since they went their separate ways. The common denominator to the two stories is that living with hate is not a way to live and that letting things go is the good way to go. "Separate Lies" comes to a similar conclusion and reinforces the lessons I have been seeing in recent weeks.

Before we get to the title of the film a man on a bicycle is clipped by a car and thrown to the side of the road. This fleeting incident has a profound impact on James Manning (Tom Wilkinson), a solicitor who lives near that country lane with his wife, Anne (Emily Watson). The man who died was the husband of their housekeeper, which makes it rather personal for James and when he sees a mark on the car driven by William Bule (Rupert Everett), a friend of Anne's he becomes suspicious and confronts William, who eventually admits to the deed. But when William tells Anne what has happened she has a confession of her own to make that changes everything for William and turns his world upside down. The tragedy is that no matter what he does, it seems James cannot make things right.

My main insight to this 2005 film by Julian Fellow (writer of "Gosford Park"), who wrote the adaptation of Nigel Balchin's novel "A Way Through the Wood," was the character of William because even though he is played by Rupert Everett there is no obvious reason for Anne or anybody else to find him preferable to James. After all, William only has a vague idea as to how old his two sons might be, makes no effort to act charming, and is wholly indifferent to having killed someone. The only thing that seems to recommend William is that he is not James; specifically, James is always providing tests for Anne that she fails and William simply does not care enough not to trust her. While Anne says the right things as they try to make things work, her actions indicate she is leading a separate life. James surrenders to the inevitable, and finds a personal grace note that allows him to continue.

Wilkinson's performance is at the heart of this film and he presents James as a man who is not comfortable when he is not in control, especially when it is made clear to him he has not been in control for some time and that security is never coming back again. Watson matches him in terms of quiet intensity, because while voices might be raised it would not be proper to be screaming. Would anger and the attendant passion have made a difference earlier, or were they doomed from the moment they settled on the life of living in the country but James working in the city? The fissures in this marriage had been covered up by dust long before this movie started.

I was so thrilled to that Emily Watson is starring in a dramatic film again, especially it's writen by the writer who penned Gosford Park which also starred Watson. I have been a loyal fan of her since her Oscar-nominated Breaking the Waves, and loved her other works include her second Oscar-nominated Hilary and Jackie and Angela's Ashes. After viewing this film, she has impressed me beyond her previous performances and I hope this film put her on the Oscar nomination list along with her equally brilliant and compelling costar Tom Wilkinson!

This is an excellent film about a couple dealing with failing marriage, infidelity, accidental hit-and-ran crime, lies, and reconcilation. It's a very well writen suspense drama with plenty of heavy emotional and tender moments and a few sudden funny moments. The plot of the film surrounds four characters primarily and most of the scenes are meticulously rendered with top-notched acting and dialogues. It's certainly the most enjoyable film about infidelity and failing marriage I have seen since Unfaithful.

On the surface, James(Wilkinson) and Anne Manning(Watson) looked like the perfect married couple except they don't have any children but an adorable little dog. He's a successful and powerful business man, and she's a devoted and loving housewife who is submissive at all time to him. Well, beneathe all that, she's discontended emotionally and sexually. She's unhappy to constantly have to please her husband and it's never been about what she needs or wants. When a handsome newly divorced carefree and wealthy neighbor Bill/William Bule(Rupert Everette) enter the picture, it became the perfect opportunity for Anne to find happiness and pleasure secretly.

Things start to unravel when Anne and Bill were involved in a hit-and-ran accident that claimed the life of her housekeeper Maggie's(Linda Bassett) husband. At this point, Anne had to bring herself to a full confession to the unsuspecting James. This is where the two leads delivered the most intense and gripping moment of the film. It suddenly got very funny when Anne told James," Yes, I f*** Bill. No, I mean, Bill f*** me." Then he rushed to open the kitchen door and simultaneously vomitted as a result of the shock. He would never imagined his wife could treat him that way and be so secretive about it. And yet, he never brought himself to release his anger by getting physical at her, he reluctantly had an affair with his secretary.
James, Anne, and Bill would eventually have to deal with Maggie who told the police that Bill was responsible for the crime without knowing that Anne was the driver in the car that day. Since Maggie was so grateful that Anne had hired her years ago despite her past criminal record, she was willing to forgive her for the accident. Now, everything seemed to have fallen into pieces, and how will James save his marriage and become a good husband to his remorseful and volatile wife.

The supporting performance from Linda Bassett was very good. I was not that impressed with the underexposed Rupert Everett whom I thought should have done a few cheating scenes with Watson. His lazy and careless character is not that sympathetic even when he got very ill. I am not convinced that could be the reason that Anne gave herself into his arms in the first place. Tom Wilkinson once again proves that he can take on all kinds of roles, good and evil, In The Bedroom, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Batman Begins, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose to name the examples. His role in this film is highly likeable, because he was willing to forgive and change to make things work at the most chaotic circumstances. The moment when he waited for Anne on a rainny night outside of Bill's apartment and told her that he wanted to be a better man and her to think of him was so touching to me. This might just be the perfect date movie for the grownups, and it's a must-see for the best performances of the year!

"Separate Lies" is a film about infidelities, indiscretions and the manner in which individuals go about covering their tracks. It is with these types of films that the British typically excel.

As is often the case, once a lie is made, others inevitably follow. Very soon, an entire web of deceit has been constructed. Lies beget lies.

This is a very good film that deserves a wider audience than it will probably receive. I suspect it will be pigeon holed as art house. Such films rarely become box office hits. This is a shame as quality is too often overwhelmed by special effects, car chases and firearms.

If I was to find criticism with "Separate Lies" it is that the one of the main characters is simply too calm in the face of challenge to be truly plausible. When the cheated husband, otherwise played brilliantly by Tom Wilkinson, learns of his wife's infidelities, he is briefly shocked but, thereafter, seems untroubled. When further infidelities occur, he is simply too poker faced to be believed. There is little outrage and little anger. Would someone really be this calm? I suspect not.

Having found a weakness in the film, I still recommend it as worthy. The settings are marvellous and with exception of the above criticism, the characters are far more true to life than the typical fare from Hollywood. Take the trouble to see this film.

SEPARATE LIES marks the directorial debut of actor Julian Fellowes; it is a dark, slow moving drama that ultimately ends up being a character study about love, infidelity, truth and forgiveness.
Oscar nominees Tom Wilkinson (IN THE BEDROOM) and Emily Watson play a well to do couple with a flat in London and a beautiful country home in Wales. He's a successful solictor; she is the wife who wants to please him at the cost of her own happiness. When the husband of their housekeeper is killed by a hit and run driver, events are set in motion that will change their lives.
The movie doesn't have enough suspense to be a thriller, but it does examine what one might do to protect a loved one and/or their reputation. Wilkinson and Watson are superb in their roles, both showing a wide range of conflicting emotions. Rupert Everett, looking rather ill, does a good job in his underplayed role of their neighbor William Buell.
SEPARATE LIES is not a great film by any means; it's lethargic and the second half meanders a lot. But it's worth seeing for the finely honed performances of its stars.