Review

Review Date: 16-October-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Junk

Separate Lies (2005)

Like a good critic, I sat through all of "Separate Lies" with my eyes open and facing the screen, but I never detected anything that could be called the point of the movie. So while I can describe the plot — wealthy British couple (Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson) struggles through manslaughter and adultery with an even more wealthy rotter (Rupert Everett) — I am at a loss to offer insight into what it means. Does any character have a story arc? No. Are we supposed to empathize with any one of them? Impossible. Should we wonder whether children might have improved the couple's life? Maybe. Is it significant that everyone preserves themselves and their loved ones with lies? Not appreciably. Could writer/director Julian Fellowes simply be commenting on how morally bankrupt and fundamentally dull the upper class is? Your guess is as good as mine.

Although as a rule I don't read reviews until I finish writing my own, I just consulted what others had to say about "Separate Lies" and found that the reaction was generally positive. Most praise Wilkinson's performance as a strength of the film (indeed, his presence attracted me in the first place), but even the most approving critics describe its import in vague terms of maturity, social class, and guilt. I can only conclude, therefore, that one's response to such a picture is entirely a matter of taste, even more so than the average flick. Besides the actors, Fellowes doesn't offer much substance by which to judge his work; you either enjoy visiting the repressive world he portrays, or you don't.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.