IMDb > Separate Lies (2005)
Separate Lies
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Separate Lies (2005) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 15)
Separate Lies (2005) -- A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party.
Separate Lies (2005) -- Clip: You're being nonsensical
Separate Lies (2005) -- A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party.
Separate Lies (2005) -- A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party.
Separate Lies (2005) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   2,320 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 28% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Julian Fellowes

Writers:

Nigel Balchin (based on the novel by "A Way Through the Wood")
Julian Fellowes (writer)

Contact:

View company contact information for Separate Lies on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

18 November 2005 (UK) more

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller more

Plot:

A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party. full summary | add synopsis

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations more

NewsDesk:
(2 articles)

tMF Oscarwatch: The Young Victoria disappoints...?
 (From The Movie Fanatic. 30 August 2009, 10:59 AM, PDT)

tMF Oscarwatch: The Young Victoria disappoints...?
 (From The Movie Fanatic. 30 August 2009, 10:59 AM, PDT)

User Comments:

Unhappy marriages are unhappy in their own way more (53 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tom Wilkinson ... James Manning

Emily Watson ... Anne Manning
Hermione Norris ... Priscilla
John Warnaby ... Simon

Rupert Everett ... Bill Bule
Richenda Carey ... Sarah Tufnell
Linda Bassett ... Maggie
Christine Lohr ... Nurse
Alice O'Connell ... Maggie's Daughter
John Neville ... Lord Rawston
Peregrine Kitchener-Fellowes ... Bill's Son Charles
Henry Drake ... Bill's Son Freddy
David Harewood ... Inspector Marshall
Sabine Tourtellier ... Receptionist
Philip Rham ... French Lawyer
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

A Way Through the Woods (UK) (working title)
more

MPAA:

Rated R for language including some sexual references.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | USA:R (PCA #41078)

Company:

Celador Films more


Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:

References "The Jerry Springer Show" (1991) more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
Unhappy marriages are unhappy in their own way, 11 November 2007
7/10
Author: Philby-3 from Sydney, Australia

Although this film is set amongst the sophisticated English upper classes it is a simple story of a couple torn asunder. It has a slightly dated air, being an adaptation of "A Way Through the Wood", a 1950 novel by Nigel Balchin (once hugely popular and now forgotten). Julian Fellowes, who despite an academy award for the script of "Gosford Park", has a somewhat anachronistic persona himself, wrote the script and directed (the latter for the first time). With the DVD version I saw there is a most illuminating audio commentary by Julian. His primary focus was on getting his characters right, and by and large he has succeeded. In this he was helped by two outstanding performances from Tom Wilkinson as James, the stitched up City lawyer, and Emily Watson as his attractive wife Anne. He also kept it short; the running time is only 80 minutes.

James and Anne have a town house in Chelsea and a comfortable former vicarage in Buckinghamshire. Anne is some years younger but they are childless. Outwardly they seem happy, but James, one of nature's moralists (unusual for a city lawyer), is a control freak. Just down the road is the aristocratic the Hon. William Buel, who is not one for middle-class morality, and he is more than happy to take advantage. But there's a complication, a road accident, in which an elderly cyclist is knocked over in a country lane by a ruthlessly driven Range Rover just like the Hon. Bill's. Soon James, Anne, Bill and the victim's widow (who happens to be James' and Anne's cleaner) are drawn in to a conspiracy to conceal what really happened. The primary focus is on the corrosive effect of all this on James and Anne's relationship.

The third person in this ménage a trios, Bill, is played by Rupert Everett. From the point of view of casting, his languid, superior manner is right for the part, yet somehow he doesn't quite get there. Partly this is because he is supposed to be sick for some of the time and he looks well when he is supposed to be sick, and vice-versa. The part seems underdeveloped. It is interesting that John Neville as Bill's father who has only one significant scene manages to establish his character beautifully in the time he has.

The world of five star hotels and superior restaurants is nicely evoked. As Julian Fellowes says in the audio commentary, these people are able to convince themselves that the Edwardian age still exists. At bottom though, the film is about what draws a couple together and what tears them apart. Nigel Balchin was going through a marriage break-up when he wrote the book, and Fellowes has made a good fist of conveying the atmosphere. As he says, his is a fairly free adaptation, but the central theme is the same.

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