Tragic, poetic, thoughtful and measured perfectly, "The End of the Affair" is a beautiful film. It's very artsy, very much a "chick flick" and moves at the slowest imaginable pace. Yet, if you stick it out, the film will move you beyond belief. It will convert you in the final reel. It will fill your heart. If you love films like "The Way We Were" or "The English Patient" or "Sophie's Choice" or "The Ogre," then this is a film for you.

Based on a novel by Gunther Grass ("Travels with My Aunt"), writer/director Neil Jordan, still best known for "The Crying Game," crafts a soft-focused miracle here. His film begins slowly, poetically, moving you slyly into the story and allowing it to unfurl, in flashback and subtle narration, in non-chronological order. Like a great novel, it sweeps over you and moves you ever so delicately into the next phase of the story.

Ralph Fiennes, in his finest role since "Schindler," opens the film and acts as our protagonist. His bitterness and jealousy drive his character and the film for almost all the film. Fiennes is perfection in this role. He brings us a man we grow to care for but never grow close to. We see his folly. Meanwhile, it is Julianne Moore that creeps into our heart. Moore is an actress who came to prominence only a few years ago and yet, with each successive role, she cements herself in the upper echelon of American actresses. She is beauty and light here. She wraps us around her finger, but not in a purposeful or adverse way. Rather, it is her wonder and beauty that captivate us. When the film, in it's midsection, switches P.O.V.'s for a moment, and we see events through her eyes, it opens up the story for us. The film blooms. It becomes magic.

And the secondary characters are wonderful too. Stephen Rea reinvents himself as a cuckold husband. Like his peers in the leads, he forces us to remember what a fine actor he is. He gives the film it's glue. Ian Hart is superb as a Private Investigator. And little Sam Bould, in a minor and small role, is allowed the opportunity to make the powerful tug at the end of the film full-bodied and miraculous. He does not fail. If the final moment in this film with Bould does not move you, then you are made of stone, your heart has died.

Oh God, and the score. Michael Nyman creates a symphony of such beauty and simple complexity that it sweeps us into the film with ease. His motifs and moments subtly underplay the love affair here but also add a rich texture to the themes of jealousy, rage, anger, bitterness and pain without ever being overt or obvious. It's probably the best score of the year.

Jordan has crafted one of his finest films here. The director, in general, does not often waver. But here he really moves us perfectly. His film is finely crafted, intricate, novelesque and vast. His script is poignant and perfect. Jordan should teach all of Hollywood how to adapt a novel into a script. This is an accomplished work. Anyone who is bored by it is not a full person yet, has a lot of growing to do.

Note:

Also made in 1955 by Edward Dmytryk. With Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson.

More of Lodger's reviews indexed alphabetically! Just click your favorite letter to go there.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

HOME