Separate Lies

Separate Lies is beautifully written, beautifully mounted and beautifully acted. It is nuanced in the emotions it portrays and deeply human in its understanding of the complexities of our natures. It features multidimensional characters who actually grow and change over the course of the unfolding plot. Written and directed by Julian Fellowes, who won an Academy Award for scripting Robert Altman’s Gosford Park, Separate Lies is a movie that rings true in every scene. Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson co-star as an English couple whose marriage cracks apart as the story unfolds and the lies being told grow more and more unwieldy. Near the end of the movie, there is a scene in which the couple reaches a kind of reconciliation in the rain. The film has built to that scene like an arrow going to its mark, and it is enormously affecting. Wilkinson and Watson provide spot-on performances. Though the movie was well reviewed almost everywhere, the personal reviews posted on the IMDb Web site revealed some awfully stupid reactions to the film, and I would recommend checking those out after you’ve seen it.