Review of Separate Lies (2005) by Paul S — 24 Jun 2008

Separate Lies belongs in that category of films which have been directed by promising screenwriters who have tried, and failed, to make the leap towards direction.

Separate Lies has a strong sense of character and situation, as you would expect from a good screenwriter like Julian Fellowes. Indeed, Fellowes cleverly weaves an intriguing plot from the heart-felt predicament of his central characters and their quietly desperate middle class lives, which spin out of control after a crime. Fellowes avoids the usual Brit cliches. Instead, he creates individual characters and develops, from a small situation, a more universal message about the inherently flawed nature of humanity.

However, there are some significant problems with the script. Firstly, Fellowes' screenplay is based on a novel from the early 1950's. While he succeeds in updating his central character (but then the up-to-date Manning is clearly from the old school), the other characters suffer from anachronism. While Anne is far from a one-dimensional wife and adultress, her choices make it apparent that she is from a time before female emancipation. The supporting characters have it worst- Bill Bule isn't far from an upper class cad, and while the police Inspector is a welcome reflection of Britain's contemporary multicultural society, he still comes across like a dinosaur from classic crime fiction.

But it is as a director that Fellowes really fails. He has no eye for London, Paris or the Home Counties (rather he seems to have mostly kept his face shoved in his script). Maybe this is why the film feels more like a stage play. While the individual acting is very good, I felt the group scenes weren't well-handled. And as mentioned above, poor Rupert Everett and David Harewood don't have much to go on with their underwritten, anachronistic characters.

Overall, Separarte Lies is an interesting little film with a promising screenplay, but one that suffers from its updating to the present, and which needed a far more experienced director.