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Film

Indie flick: 'Separate' and satisfying

By STEVE PERSALL
Published October 27, 2005

Separate Lies (R) (85 min.) - Some films succeed on sheer chronological economy, such as Red Eye recently, taking no more time than necessary to tell a good story. Another such film is Separate Lies, although this very British parlor drama is worlds apart from Wes Craven's action thriller.

Writer-director Julian Fellowes, an Oscar-winning screenwriter for Gosford Park, creates a lean, meaty tale of adultery, wrongful death and terminal illness. Any of those topics might be stretched to two hours by a filmmaker merely concerned with appearing impressive. A lot happens in Separate Lies, and everything is addressed just enough to make it count. Fellowes' movie won't be a factor at awards time, but for under 90 minutes it's an involving piece of tony entertainment.

James Manning (Tom Wilkinson) is one of those upper-class Englishmen who seems to have everything under control. His legal practice is successful, and his wife Anne (Emily Watson) does the proper charity work and manages their estate. The tension between this self-satisfied man and unsatisfied woman is palpable. During a cricket match, she notices handsome William Bule (Rupert Everett) and we immediately know what will happen.

Fellowes doesn't waste time showing their affair. We have it confirmed when Anne informs James, and that's only when a drastic situation spurs her to do so. The husband of their housekeeper was killed by a hit-and-run driver on the night the Mannings hosted a party. William's SUV has an incriminating fender scar, and James plans to use that for revenge on his wife's lover. Anything else revealed would spoil Fellowes' admirably brisk screenplay and no-nonsense direction. Everything glides so smoothly that Separate Lies ends before we wish it would, even though everything's resolved by then. Not many films engender that kind of feeling. Then again, not many films boast such fine performances and solid writing. Nothing special, and Fellowes doesn't try convincing us it is. That makes his film special enough. Grade: B-plus

[Last modified October 26, 2005, 10:11:06]