Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersIndependent Spirit AwardsWomen's History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Separate Lies

  • 20052005
  • RR
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
4.4K
YOUR RATING
Tom Wilkinson in Separate Lies (2005)
Home Video Trailer from Fox Searchlight Pictures
Play trailer2:05
2 Videos
3 Photos
CrimeDramaRomance
A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party.A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party.A couple's marriage is complicated by the introduction of a third party.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
4.4K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Julian Fellowes
  • Writers
    • Nigel Balchin(based on the novel by "A Way Through the Wood")
    • Julian Fellowes
  • Stars
    • Tom Wilkinson
    • Emily Watson
    • Hermione Norris
  • Director
    • Julian Fellowes
  • Writers
    • Nigel Balchin(based on the novel by "A Way Through the Wood")
    • Julian Fellowes
  • Stars
    • Tom Wilkinson
    • Emily Watson
    • Hermione Norris
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 68User reviews
    • 43Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 5 nominations

    Videos2

    Separate Lies
    Trailer 2:05
    Watch Separate Lies
    Separate Lies
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Separate Lies

    Photos

    Separate Lies (2005)
    Separate Lies (2005)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tom Wilkinson
    Tom Wilkinson
    • James Manning
    Emily Watson
    Emily Watson
    • Anne Manning
    Hermione Norris
    Hermione Norris
    • Priscilla
    John Warnaby
    • Simon
    Rupert Everett
    Rupert Everett
    • Bill Bule
    Richenda Carey
    Richenda Carey
    • Sarah Tufnell
    Linda Bassett
    Linda Bassett
    • Maggie
    Christine Lohr
    • Nurse
    Alice O'Connell
    • Maggie's Daughter
    John Neville
    John Neville
    • Lord Rawston
    Peregrine Kitchener-Fellowes
    • Bill's Son Charles
    Henry Drake
    • Bill's Son Freddy
    David Harewood
    David Harewood
    • Inspector Marshall
    Sabine Tourtellier
    • Receptionist
    Philip Rham
    • French Lawyer
    Jeremy Child
    Jeremy Child
    • Angus Burrell
    Horlicks
    • Dog
    Keith Bisset
    • Dr. Morgan
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Julian Fellowes
    • Writers
      • Nigel Balchin(based on the novel by "A Way Through the Wood")
      • Julian Fellowes
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Nine Lives
    6.7
    Nine Lives
    Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
    6.5
    Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
    I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
    7.7
    I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
    The Chumscrubber
    6.9
    The Chumscrubber
    Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
    7.4
    Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
    Strangers with Candy
    5.9
    Strangers with Candy
    Down to the Bone
    6.7
    Down to the Bone
    Gay Sex in the 70s
    7.0
    Gay Sex in the 70s
    Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
    7.2
    Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
    Julie Johnson
    6.2
    Julie Johnson
    Marjoe
    7.5
    Marjoe
    From Time to Time
    6.7
    From Time to Time

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Nigel Balchin's novel was first published in 1951, but was updated to the 21st century for this movie adaptation.
    • Goofs
      When Anne and James met out in the rain for a last goodbye it was very obvious that the rain was manufactured. The rain came down mainly where they were standing and the WAY it came down was not realistic at all.
    • Quotes

      James Manning: Oh, fuck Bill!

      Anne Manning: That's the thing really. I mean I do fuck Bill. Or rather he fucks me.

    • Connections
      Features Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1998)

    User reviews68

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Unhappy marriages are unhappy in their own way
    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.
    helpful•14
    1
    • Philby-3
    • Nov 11, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 18, 2005 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Fox Searchlight (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • A Way Through the Woods
    • Filming locations
      • Turville, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Celador Films
      • DNA Films
      • UK Film Council
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $924,260
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $22,341
      • Sep 18, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,452,023
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Tom Wilkinson in Separate Lies (2005)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Separate Lies (2005) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.