The End of the Affair | | Cast : | Ralph Fiennes, Stephen Rea, Julianne Moore | | Director : | Neil Jordan | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | March 01, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 24, 2004 | | Summary | Disappointing! | Content
 | Prepared as I was to adore the remake of the 1955 version (in which the lover is, for some unfathomable reason, an American reporter rather than an English government functionary), I was crushingly disappointed with the remake. Grahame Greene's whole premise was distorted by having the Julianne Moore character meet secretly with a priest to help her resist the temptation to return to her lover.
Greene's story is of a woman, baptized but not a practicing Roman Catholic, who seeks counsel from an atheist in order to convince herself that her vow (to end her affair if her lover's life is spared) is of no worth. Her eventual loss of the will to live is directly related to her inability to divest herself of her conviction that she must never again see the man she loves. The implication is that her baptism "took." Despite her not consciously adhering to Christian tenets and her wishing to justify ignoring her vow, she is somehow compelled against her will to keep it.
Disrespecting the author's intent insults the intelligence of the audience. Did the producers see viewers as incapable of comprehending how convoluted such rationalization can become? Or did they themselves fail to understand what it is to have a deep conflict of conscience? The irony of the story is utterly lost in translation! Tsk. Tsk.
O Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson, come back. All is forgiven. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 03, 2004 | | Summary | A gentle movie! | Content
| This movie was a touching love story. Even though most love stories are lame this one was a strong-flavored movie. I think it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 17, 2004 | | Summary | Rather a surprise | Content
| As per the original, or Jordan's attempt to recreate such, the film is unusually subtle, thoughtful, and, yes, mature. One feels that Jordan himself may be a nice person, as the plot is washed in that which was meant to lend interest to many an older, B&W, British drama: character. Whether or not Sarah (or Bendrick, for that matter) could be seen as good despite her/his adulterous frailty isn't the point - it's a red herring, swallowed neatly and idiotically by this film's 1st Amazonian reviewer. In my opinion, this film is about two things: (1)character, and (2) faith, and its surfacing in the least likely of places. As such it's a nice trip back to a time when, at least via art, themes of maturity, character, and the existance of God were more frequently and successfully shopped around to film producers. I might have given this a "4" had Jordan found a way to better express Moore's mounting attraction for something other than her lover, as well as the events leading up to Bendrick's hatred and distrust of same. Still, a film that leaves so much, as well as the latter, to the imagination, is refreshing, as is its crediting viewers with imagination and intelligence. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 16, 2004 | | Summary | The Beginning of Disappointment | Content
| As a big fan of Ralph, I was looking forward to The End of the Affair. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this movie is dreadful. Ralph is a brilliant actor, but not even his flawless acting can't compensate for the nonsensical plot and the horrific casting of Julianne Moore. What happened to Moore? It is NOT hard to learn a British accent. From the sounds of it, Moore didn't even try. She sounds so American she fails to convince anyone she has an ounce of English in her. And if that weren't bad enough, the plot is as unconvincing as Moore's accent. She's an adulteress, but miraculously heals a young boy's facial disfigurement and brings Ralph back from the dead. Even the priest admires her--adultery and all! Her husband does not know the meaning of jealously and lets Ralph live in the house even though he knows of the affair. Still amidst the unbelievable, the plot is so predicatable. She coughs a few times here and there. So we know (before anyone in the movie figures it out) that she's dying. We also know why she "ends" the affair long before its "revealed" to Ralph. And by the way, what was with all the nudity? Totally unnecessary and vulgar. |
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