Separate Lies (2005)

72% of critics liked it
(88 reviews)
46% of users liked it
(2,807 ratings)

A damaged relationship is stretched to its desperate limits in this drama. Anne (Emily Watson) and James (Tom Wilkinson) are a seemingly happy and prosperous British couple who divide their time between a flat in London and a house in the country. However, their marriage is not as contented as one… More A damaged relationship is stretched to its desperate limits in this drama. Anne (Emily Watson) and James (Tom Wilkinson) are a seemingly happy and prosperous British couple who divide their time between a flat in London and a house in the country. However, their marriage is not as contented as one might imagine, and for years James has turned a blind eye to just how deeply unhappy Anne has become with him. Their lives together reach a crossroads when Anne meets the handsome and charming Bill Bule (Rupert Everett); Anne becomes deeply infatuated with him, which only reinforces her dissatisfaction with James, but when the two become involved in an accident that kills another man, Bill drops out of the picture and James decides he must step forward to protect the woman he wed. Separate Lies was the directorial debut from screenwriter Julian Fellowes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Julian Fellowes
Written By: Nigel Balchin, Julian Fellowes
Genres: Drama, Romance

In Theaters: Sep 16, 2005 Limited
On DVD: Feb 21, 2006
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
What lies underneath doesn't surprise. But it's fascinating to watch that peeling as it happens.
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
It's as grown-up as a movie can get, with a fine cast in a strongly crafted tale about the calamities that can wreck a relationship and the love that can redeem it.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
As a very British film about very British personalities, class differences and attitudes, it's just about perfect.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
The deceptions of Separate Lies are so uniquely and recognizably human they become a cautionary warning to us all.
Tom Long, Detroit News
A tight little film that's so painfully civil it makes you want to slap the characters around, which may be the point.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
As always, Fellowes has a pitch-perfect ear for British diction.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Wilkinson and Watson give sharply observed performances, that don't allow the film to become a sudser.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"Separate Lies" is a hearty mystery/drama that blooms as a succinct social critique of British aristocracy.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
A fascinating character study of lies, truth and the consequences
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
By the time the film was over, I had to ask myself why any of the characters behaved the way they did.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Separate Lies seems to take forever to unfold, and when it does, it makes one wonder if it was worth the trouble.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
At the mercy of material so fussy that no amount of frenetically-chopped vegetables can lend the piece much in the way of tension.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
...Fellowes, who won a much deserved Oscar for his screenplay for Gosford Park, makes a fine directing debut with this updated variation on a classic theme...

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Carlos M

An engaging adult drama that presents some compelling moral dilemmas, evolving from a whodunit plot to an intelligent character study that cleverly challenges the elegant refinement of the British aristocracy.
Mason W

Separate lies, starring Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, and Rupert Everett is a good drama. A film that centers on a love triangle of a married couple and a death of a neighbor intersects these people...very good film.
Antony S

A quiet indie drama starring Tom Wilkinson, Sepearte Lies takes almost a noirish approach to the topic of upper-class English infidelity. James Manning (Wilkinson( discovers after years of happy marriage to Anne (Emily Watson), that she has been having a private affair behing his… More
A quiet indie drama starring Tom Wilkinson, Sepearte Lies takes almost a noirish approach to the topic of upper-class English infidelity. James Manning (Wilkinson( discovers after years of happy marriage to Anne (Emily Watson), that she has been having a private affair behing his back. He actually discovers this by accident; a by-product of prying into a local hit-and-run accident. With a subtlye approach, Wilkinson expresses his character's dark curiosity in both the accident (?) and said affair. In this regard, his status is shown up for what it really is: a social formality that means nothing to his position as a male. This can make the film disappointing to some, as James is walked on by his wife (and nearly everyone else) in spite of him being the jilted lover, and never really does anything about it. Though this does ably illustrate the complexity of maturity, it also serves to make the film unsatisfying, as James starts a doormat and stays so. Excellent performances scuppered somewhat by an inconclusive script.
Dean M

This thriller was not really shocking between the affair and accident.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Separate Lies", James Manning(Tom Wilkinson) is a high powered solicitor who commutes to London from his home in Buckinghamshire, where he lives with his wife, Anne(Emily Watson). Despite his reluctance, Anne throws a cocktail party but James ducks… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Separate Lies", James Manning(Tom Wilkinson) is a high powered solicitor who commutes to London from his home in Buckinghamshire, where he lives with his wife, Anne(Emily Watson). Despite his reluctance, Anne throws a cocktail party but James ducks out by staying late at the office. In the meantime, their housekeeper's husband was killed by a hit and run driver. After noticing a scratch on the car belonging to their neighbor, William Bule(Rupert Everett), James confronts him and gets an admission of guilt and a promise to turn himself in to the police. When presented with this news, Anne is taken aback because not only was she in the car with William when it happened, but she was actually behind the wheel. To make matters even worse, William and Anne have been having an affair.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Separate Lies" is an understated drama with some very powerful scenes. Themes of success, guilt and morality are handled in a very intriguing manner. [/font][font=Century Gothic]The movie is buoyed by an excellent performance by Tom Wilkinson. And nobody does leonine decadence like Rupert Everett.[/font]
Sunil J

It's alright but it's been done many times before and I can't remember anything unique about it.