The End of the Affair ***1/2 (out of 5) (1999)

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea, Ian Hart, Jason Isaacs

Directed by Neil Jordan


Based on the novel by Graham Greene, set in 1946 London. Maurice is a struggling novelist who meets Henry, a man now married to his ex-lover Sarah. The two former lovers discover that they are still in love with each other Maurice's love is a suffocating one filled with obsession and jealousy and when he suspects that she may be cheating on him as well, he hires a private investigator to follow her around. Suspicions mount and soon the relationship hits new highs and lows with eeach successive outing.

THE END OF THE AFFAIR is a solid film by Neil Jordan, who bounces back after the worst movie of his career, IN DREAMS, with flair. Beautiful music and costumes, along with a stellar performance by Moore, who received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for the performance, make the film much more than a run of the mill romance. At times predictable, at others profound, Jordan cranks up the emotion for a touching and powerful ending. Well worth watching for Moore's performance alone, but the fact that the rest of the production is solid is icing on the cake.


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