SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

bobvend A very admirable, well-made film, Separate Lies tells a complex tale of fate, lies, infidelities and the precarious truces people make with each other in order to move on.One of the prominent themes in this very human film is that, sometimes, not speaking at all is akin to telling a lie. But in speaking up and accepting responsibility for ones actions, do we inflict further and needless damage and pain?The acting and directing are first-rate, and the cinematography is compelling without being overbearing. The fact that much of the story is set and filmed in the British countryside certainly doesn't hurt either. A competent adult drama filled with interesting characters that the viewer actually does grow to care about, Separate Lies is deserving of much praise.

LeonLouisRicci A calm calamity, this surprisingly subtle little film is totally dialog driven and performance enhancing. In an age where there is a lot of screaming and yelling on screen that is passed off as acting this is quite refreshing.A love triangle wrapped in a manslaughter case where the characters use words and quiet desperation to move the plot and endear us to their plight. The acting is outstanding and the mood, script and cinematography are excellent.It is not a movie of today, it is sort of a wishful portrayal of human understanding with a dreamy quality of a world where the human condition is not unrealistically Victorian. This movie has a soothing appeal where we slowly change our opinion of people and things and it has an understated delivery of doom and despair, with feelings of forgiveness that may be fictionalized but not unwanted.

Neil Turner Years ago when I first read John Irving's The World According to Garp, I was astounded that most of the younger adults with whom I had contact didn't like the book when I loved it. I began to understand that it was an age and experience thing. I experienced somewhat of a déjà vu when reading some of the comments on this site that were clearly written by younger viewers. Fully enjoying Separate Lies is surely an age and experience thing.In this film the viewer sees a seemingly happy upper middle class couple - he a successful lawyer - she the perfect wife of a successful lawyer. They have a townhouse in London and a home in the country. All's well until there enters the "villain" in the guise of the son of the richest man in the village. This guy appears to be a cad from the word, "Go." He is disdainful of everyone and everything including his own children. In the traditional form of nice guys finishing last, the lawyer's wife engages in an affair with the bounder. You see the lawyer really is a nice guy but with the marriage killing trait of an organized perfectionist. Even though he truly loves her, he is boring his wife to death. The bad boy is far more exciting.All of this is entangled with the hit-and-run death of a man in the village in which all the facts point to the cad being the driver of the vehicle.It's easy to determine that this movie doesn't build to a happy ending, however, it does lead to a very satisfying ending in that the man and his wife learn and grow from their experiences and probably will be able to conduct their personal lives in a more successful manner.Three excellent actors play the main characters in this film, and it is there performances that make the whole thing a pleasure to watch. Tom Wilkinson is perfect as the husband. His portrayal shows us a kind man who has so much control over his emotions that he has lost touch with the world. Emily Watson shows us a woman who has become so trapped in the role of perfect wife that she has almost lost her knowledge of passion. That passion is reborn by the character deftly played by Rupert Everett.If you have reached that point in life in which you understand that everyone has feet of clay and that everyone - even with the gifts of intelligence and opportunities - makes many many wrong decisions, then you will probably enjoy watching these excellent actors creating the lives of three such people. This is a beautifully acted and directed adult film about realistic adults.

waltcosmos I gave it a seven only because the acting is good. And of course by that I mean Wilkinson. The other two principals were "decent". But the characters themselves...what on earth was so bad about the character Wilkinson played (James Manning)? I didn't see him behaving like the martinet Emily Watson accused him of being. Bill Bule, on the other hand, was an insufferable jerk who I was praying would meet an extremely brutal and prolonged demise. Who was I kidding? Tom Wilkinson isn't Paul Bettany after all. So what on EARTH did Emily Watson's (Anne) character SEE in him???? She herself admitted he was pretty much a piece of offal in his treatment of her. Why would she even want to be in the same TOWN as him, to say nothing of the same "room".I noticed some other reviews, one person said she "cried" at the end, to witness James' tragedy. ??? WHAT tragedy? What, you mean losing an imbecile who finds someone like Bill Bule AMUSING???!!! Give us a break.