The End of the Affair (1999)

   
THE END OF THE AFFAIR has a couple good sex scenes, I'll give you 
that.  One involves a classic case of coitus interruptus; the other 
rocks the bed during the London Blitz, complete with crazy camera 
shaking for each bomb blast.  (That the latter seems like a long-
lost Monty Python skit is neither here nor there...)  The rest of 
this woeful wartime drama is the stuff of sagging eyelids.  Blame 
the back-and-forth time-shifting.  Unless, I suppose, you've read 
Graham Greene's novel, good luck following the plot, much less the 
core emotions of the three characters.  (Hey, how 'bout a chart de-
tailing who loves/hates whom and when?)  Roger Pratt's moody photo-
graphy doesn't exactly add to the excitement, either.  (And the a-
ward for Movie Most Likely to Induce Napping goes to...)  Thank God 
for Ian Hart, who provides some sorely needed (if very, *very* mild) 
comic relief as a not-so-skilled private investigator.  Laughter.  
Now *there's* a concept...  Neil Jordon writes and directs.  Ralph 
Finnes, Julianne Moore, and Stephen Rea star.  (Rated "R"/109 min.)

Grade: C

Copyright 2000 Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros

Originally posted to triangle.movies as MOVIE HELL: January 24, 2000