Separate Lies
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Movie Reviews of Separate Lies
Movie Review: True Lies
Summary: 3 Stars
My favourite movies have come from the Channel Four 'Film On Four' series of a few years ago yet somehow Sammy and Rosie Get Laid sticks in my mind here. This lovely little tale is very reminiscent of those movies of the eighties with their obsession with class in Britain yet here the focus is on the upper middle class and the aristocracy rather than the interactions of the polyocracy and working class Londoners.
The outset of the film sees a middle aged cyclist taking a moderate rate down a country lane whereupon he is hit by a speeding vehicle. There follows a tale of disintegrating lives and values which gradually engulf the characters in a web of less than pretty lies. At the heart of the story is the fragile marriage of a successful city solicitor (attorney) in London with a rural retreat provided by his not insubstantial income. His wife, good dutiful soul that she is, plays out her life as a consort to her man and abides by his rules yet yearns to be free. Her entangtlement with the son of a nearby aristocrat develops as she persues him from an initial meeting at a local cricket game but this soon involves all in the village including a former housekeeper who previously worked for his family and now for her but who is the widow of the deceased cyclist.
It is hard to understand how the solicitor goes against years of professional training to protect his wife as he gradually unfolds the infidelity and criminal neglect which he discovers about her actions and the extent to which he desires to conceal her role while at the same time takes no action against her lover. The plot slowly develops as the police become involved and seem to make little progress in their investigations as the tangled web and tissue of lies becomes evermore tangled and convuluted.
This slow paced story is redeemed by the growing awareness of the main players of their inter-relationships and interdependency. As the plot unfolds they each secure a different type of freedom and individual development which ultimately results in their own individual fulfillment as people including the widow which also affects minor elements. Salvation is at hand at the end but one which results from suffering and the implications are there for all to see. The delicate way in which the class relationships are explored is one which will engender some dissatisfaction with those not accustomed to dealing with the skeletal framework of class in Britain which still occupies much work despite almost ten years of Blairist meritocracy following on from the apparent bloody competitiveness of the Thatcher era. but fear not, the class system is alive and .well and living in rural Buckinghamshire. Whilst the location and classes may significantly differ from Sammy and Rosie there are many parallels between the two and whereas Sammy and Rosie is in your face class conflict, Separate Lies is a much more low key sophisticated treatment.
All in all a pleasant little sojourn into a gritties Midsommer Murder Mystery with great performances by all of the cast but ultimately there is a feeling, a residual dissatisfaction, with the whole premiss of the disintegrating moral stance of the solicitor despite his strong sense of right and wrong which detracts from the story.
Movie Review: The film is lackluster, but the lead performances are beyond stunning...
Summary: 3 Stars
I wish that this film had just been crafted a little better. That's all I really have to say about it. It is a decent film with some ravishing performances, but overall it fails to ignite like it should have.
That said, Tom Wilkinson is simply breathtaking.
The film revolves around the life of a British couple, James and Anne, who have their relationship turned on its head when a family friend is killed in a hit-and-run. Tom, a headstrong business man, is certain he knows who is responsible, but Anne is harboring a secret that will make his suspicions seem futile. When murder is only half of the equation you know that any and all `revelations' are going to be painful.
I think the biggest fault to be found here is with the pacing. The script, or at least the plot, is rather engaging and commanding on its own, but the way that it is laced together is a distraction. The film as a whole lacks any real bite. It just kind of floats there. The first half of the film, while generally superbly acted, is kind of a bore. It picks up as the second half of the film gets into full swing, but it never truly recovers from the lackluster opening.
For the most part the acting is phenomenal. Wilkinson and Watson are stunning as the two leads. Rupert Everett borders on awful for me. He is too obvious and I found his acting style to be over-the-top and distracting. He was somewhat of a caricature. Watson is subtle and natural will ease, completely understanding her character's inner working. The way she shifts ever so slightly when being backed into a wall by her husband is astonishing. Wilkinson (one of my favorite actors EVER) is a revelation here.
There is a scene, where Watson's character Anne makes a confession, which serves as the best scene of emotional unraveling in the film. For both Watson and Wilkinson (especially Wilkinson) this is a goldmine scene. The sharp burst of aggression from Watson, the way she uses her confined energy to distract from her final blow. The way Wilkinson loses his commanding façade, excusing himself to vomit all over the floor and then attempting to recover any dignity he can. The way that both actors took the scene and played it straight, resisting the usual `scene chewing' for a more natural and accurate depiction of the characters they were playing, never once losing the `collected' mannerisms of James and Anne.
I recommend this film for the acting alone. I mean, as a whole the film misses the boat. It needed a stronger directorial hand to handle the films core. It just seems to fall apart and lose itself in the direction. That said, Watson and Wilkinson (and a fragile and memorable Linda Bassett) do salvage the film the best they can and serve as very good reasons to see the film regardless of the overall package.
Movie Review: Strange Bedfellows
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Great script, but miserable direction and execution in SEPARATE LIES
Summary: 3 Stars
SEPARATE LIES is a well written screenplay by Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (GOSFORD PARK)that intricately entwines four people in Upper Crust England in a web of deceit,cover up,lies and infidelity when a housekeeper's husband is struck and killed by a speeding Land Rover while on his bicycle.The screenplay has beautiful twists and turns and is quite tight.The rub is that Fellowes does not have a good grasp on how to direct his own screenplay and the immense talents of Rupert Everett,Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson.A film that has so much promise,especially with composer Stanislas Syrewicz (CLANDESTINE MARRIAGE,NORA,CRIME AND PUNISHMENT)never reaches any real tension or climax that is promised in the script.Fellowes is first and foremost a fine actor (JANE EYRE,DAMAGE,MARTIN CHUZZELWIT) turned writer and is a darn good at both.He is NOT a director,and SEPARATE LIES is a brilliant example of his first and only attempt thus far.The movie barely shifts any gears and stays relatively in park for all 86 minutes.Everett,Wilkinson and Watson, the veritable who's-who of the UK acting world are wasted in the worst way (big time).The film is as dry as dust and shows no promise of any future success for Fellowes as a director.The screenplay should have been shopped around! DVD offers no extras.One time viewing only.Movie Review: A slow-moving, well-crafted treatise on honesty
Summary: 3 Stars
An original story and extremely inspired acting creates an enjoyable movie experience, but the slow pace and lack of sympathy for the characters detracts.
Tom Wilkinson is great as James Manning, a London businessman who discovers that his wife (Emily Watson) has been cheating on him with a younger apathetic businessman (Rupert Everert). When a mysterious hit and run accident kills the Manning's maid's husband, James is forced to make the decision to lie to protect his unfaithful wife, or to reveal the truth.
Separate Lies is a well-crafted statement on the idea of honesty, decency, and deception, and when one is perhaps more appropriate than the other. Maybe lies protect us for a while, but perhaps painful experiences lead us to acceptance and reality. Although, by the end of the film, it's a bit confusing as to which way the writer-director seems to be leaning on the subject.
Tom Wilkinson and Rupert Everett deliver superb performances, but Emily Watson's seems to stumble around a bit. It may just be that her character is flaky, but a few of her acting choices are a little shaky. The only special feature on the DVD is a feature length commentary by the director.