Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Neil Jordan
Written by: Neil Jordan (adapted from the novel by Graham Greene)
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea
Produced by: Neil Jordan, Stephen Woolley

The Nutshell

An affair leads to emotional turmoil in this tale of jealousy and love.

The Review

    Jealousy is an affliction which has hit all of us at some point in our lives. Maybe it was a friendship our loved one had with another, or conversely a best friend who got married and had less time to spend with us, but we have all felt the potential for emotional damage that jealousy contains. Writer/director Neil Jordan has nicely captured this potential in The End of the Affair, a film whose title explains its plot. Based on the novel by Graham Greene, the film takes the feelings associated with jealousy and brings them out into the atmosphere, surrounding the characters with depressing rain and angry explosions.

    Anyone bored with their spouse will appreciate the predicament of Sarah Miles (Moore). Her husband Henry (Rea) is a total bore, a government employee who knows only his work, and who treats her more like a friend than a lover. Sarah's natural need to love and be loved is fulfilled one night when she meets Maurice Bendrix (Fiennes), a writer at one of her husband's parties. The two instantly recognize a mutual, urgent desire in themselves and without much of a second thought the affair has begun. The eventual end of the affair has religious, violent causes behind it, and causes no end of anguish for Sarah. A promise to God to not see Maurice is severely strained, and the weight of that promise versus her desire to see Maurice damages her psyche. Maurice, on the other hand, becomes increasingly jealous of Henry, her husband.

    Fiennes is making a habit out of playing brooding aristocrats, but they are all interesting in their own way. Maurice's jealousy is present even during the affair, leading to some of the film's more painful dialogue, like "I envy your shoes, for they carry you away from me". Maurice becomes a slave to his jealousy, hiring a private detective to follow Sarah, believing her to have another lover. He looks at the skimpy set of facts given to him and makes all kinds of judgements, many of which are dead wrong. His inability to let her go almost ruins both of their lives, not to mention that of Henry.

    Jordan has made great films (The Crying Game) and bad films (In Dreams); The End of the Affair lies somewhere in the better half of his filmography, featuring a coherent story, strong performances and a moody atmosphere. The atmosphere is a bit clicheed, with rain constantly falling and sombreness all around, but it is an expression of the turmoil within the characters. The film is set during the Nazi bombing of England, and the frequent explosions mirror Maurice's building hatred of Sarah's marriage to Henry. An original score by Michael Nyman adds to the sad tone of the film. Where the film suffers is in its screenplay. Jordan's dialogue is often clumsy and awkward, and were it not for excellent performances from Moore, Fiennes and Rea, the film would be closer to mediocre. Rea, who appears in almost every Jordan film, puts in one of his best performances in years as Henry; he manages to be both a boring dud of a husband and a character with whom we sympathize. Moore, who has dominated 1999 with strong performances in An Ideal Husband and Magnolia, continues to demonstrate her mastery of her craft as Sarah, while Fiennes is able as ever as Maurice.

    It is unfortunate, but lives are destroyed by jealousy thousands of times a year across the world. People are stabbed, shot and kidnapped because of it. Occasional awkward scene aside, Jordan has captured this tragic human flaw and made a compelling film about it. Whichever way you feel Sarah should head, either towards Maurice or away from him, you will be engrossed in their tale. This is a true romance, though one outside of the bounds of marriage. There is a little bit of each of us inside one of the three main characters of The End of the Affair, and who knows, maybe the next time we become jealous of a loved one, we will remember the possible repercussions of our actions and save ourselves from hurting others.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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