Movie Review for Separate Lies

Summary: At first glance, the marriage of James Manning and his wife Anne couldn't be more picture-perfect. James is a wealthy and respected international lawyer; Anne is a bright and charming homemaker. They reside in a gorgeous country home, have another in London, and enjoy a privileged, peaceful existence with few real worries. It would be absurd to think that such a partnership could be torn apart in just a few tragic seconds. Yet that is precisely what happens. It all begins when the husband of the Mannings' cleaning lady is found near death just down the road, the victim of a hit-and-run. At first, it seems to be a random accident. But soon James begins to suspect that their neighbor, the handsome, upper-crust Bill Bule just back from America, might be to blame for what becomes a vehicular homicide. As James and the police begin to probe what really happened, James is suddenly faced with the shocking reality that both Bill and his wife Anne might have been involved, not only in the unreported crime, but with each other in a passionate affair. James’ shattering discovery is only the beginning of a suspenseful journey that takes a twisting turn when James makes the difficult choice to lie in order to protect his wife, who has been lying to him all along about her relationship with Bill, who in turn has his own devastating secret he is hiding from everyone. With the police investigator on their heels, James, Anne and Bill weave their own individual webs of deceit--each with his or her own complex personal agenda--until the truths that lie beneath the surface begin to emerge.

                         Reviews of Separate Lies
By Marcy Dermansky of About.com (7/0)
            The acting in this adult drama is uniformly superb, and it is rare that a film reveals the secret...

By Raoul Hernandez of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            Julian Fellowes is two for two.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Separate Lies is only seemingly about the portioning of blame. It is actually about the burde...

By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            ...mixed but affecting...

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            The sort of story that has so much integrity of storytelling technique on its mind that it pays l...

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            Graphically shows what a trap we weave by deception.

                         Reviews of Separate Lies
By Lisa Schwarzbaum of E! Online (7/0)
            ...Wilkinson once again astonishes with his ability to convey weakness and strength, hypocrisy an...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            At the mercy of material so fussy that no amount of frenetically-chopped vegetables can lend the ...

By Nicholas Schager of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            ...a solid if somewhat stolid tale of romance, betrayal, and deception...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Everything about SEPARATE LIES is deliciously underdone and perfect. ... a great story, wonderful...

By Jim Slotek of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            The directorial debut of Gosford Park scripter Julian Fellowes is taut, tense and nerve-rattling ...

By Marty Mapes of Movie Habit (7/0)
            Rich with irony and themes; never contrived; Fellowes is a mature, intelligent, in-control filmma...

                         Reviews of Separate Lies
By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            You'll find it hard to keep the proverbial stiff upper lip when the overheated melodrama on the s...

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            A stiff-upper-lip melodrama that’s semi-spoiled by a disappointing bit of miscasting.

By Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly (7/0)
            If movies have taught us anything, it's that adultery is never more dreary than when the British ...

By Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters (7/0)
            Workaholic James Manning's last name seems meaningful, at least as a verb.

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            This sophisticated mystery that isn’t that mysterious is a bit too civilized for my coarser Ameri...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            ...mesmerizing...

                         Reviews of Separate Lies
By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (7/0)
            Fellowes, main scripter of Gosford Park, adapted Nigel Balchin's novel, then directed and cast th...

By Ruthe Stein of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            ...quietly unsettling...

By Paula Nechak of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            This is a look at the choices we make, the resulting mistakes and complicity, selfish acts that m...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            Allows its cast to create fascinating characters we're genuinely interested in, even if they're n...

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            It's a Choose Your Own Adventure as imagined by Jackie Collins.

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/0)
            There’s something to be said for 'nice', but this goes beyond proper. Everybody seems flat and un...

                         Reviews of Separate Lies
By Matthew Turner of ViewLondon (7/0)
            Engaging drama that doesn't quite pull off its transition from thriller to emotional drama, but c...

By Stephen Holden of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            ...intriguing but chilly...

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...only mildly thrilling...

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            Three impeccably cast actors are fully engaged in something like a psychological thriller that ha...

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            The movie actually begins with a voiceover explaining, 'No life is perfect, though it may seem to...

Movie Distributors
Twentieth Century Fox

Production Companies
DNA Films
U.K. Film Council
FilmFour
Celador Productions

Movie Studios