The End of the Affair (1999)

“Pain is easy to write. In pain we’re all drabbly individual. Now what can one write about happiness?” – Maurice

Number of Times Seen – Twice (24 Feb 2001 and 12 Aug 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A man tries to find out why his lover left him years earlier while they were in the midst of a torrid affair.

My Take on it – This is a film that I saw a few years after it came out yet didn’t recall much about the story.

The overall premise is quite intriguing since we get to see the drive and reasoning behind a love affair and its demise yet they unfortunately don’t present the whole concept in the right way which hurts things a lot.

The story moves along at too slow a pace and at certain points has too much of a lull along the way.

Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore are both great actors yet their chemistry together is a bit problematic throughout the course of this story which is unfortunate especially since a premise like this requires great chemistry between the characters.

Moore is the better of the two and was deservingly nominated for an Oscar for her work here for Best Actress even if she doesn’t give the best performance among the nominees that year.

The non-linear fashion of the story is also problematic since it jumps back and forth too liberally and that hurts the pacing of things even more.

The story moves along much too slowly and if things had been sped up a bit more, it might have made things much more enjoyable and engaging to watch unfold.

Bottom Line – Interesting idea that moves along much too slowly. Fiennes and Moore have very poor chemistry here that is essential for such a story. The way that the story moves around in a very non-linear fashion also hurts things a bit. Moore was deservingly nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for here work here even if she was far from being the best performance in the category. The story itself moves at a super slow pace and might have been more engaging if things had moved along more fluidly.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Miranda Richardson and Kristin Scott Thomas were both considered for the role of Sarah Miles, before Julianne Moore personally wrote a letter to director Neil Jordan, asking for the part in the film. Her method worked, and she was offered the role. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)