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Separate Lies

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United Kingdom · 2005
Rated R · 1h 25m
Director Julian Fellowes
Starring Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Hermione Norris, Rupert Everett
Genre Drama, Romance, Thriller

In an empty village lane, a cyclist is hit by a Range Rover. James and Anne become involved because the victim is the husband of their cleaner. James, a city-solicitor, soon comes to suspect William Bule, a millionaire playboy who recently moved in. William, pressed by James, confesses to the hit and run, but his honesty is clouded by Anne's admission of her affair with William.

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What are critics saying?

80

Variety by

With Separate Lies, Fellowes has made a truly adult film -- not because of its content or themes, but because it knows that real drama often lies in the accepted and unspoken realms of life.

75

Premiere by Glenn Kenny

It touches deftly on class and race and sexual dissatisfaction and never lets up once it has put its characters under a microscope. Beautifully acted throughout, it showcases Watson's most complex performance in years.

88

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

If there's pleasure to be derived from the misfortunes of others, then Julian Fellowes' wickedly entertaining adaptation of Nigel Balchin's nearly forgotten 1951 novel is a barrel of fun.

80

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

The story presents a moral morass involving betrayal, illicit sex, hypocrisy and a crime, yet the film feels tidy. Only one punch gets thrown, and you sense the perpetrator regrets his action immediately. It is all very British.

60

Village Voice by Laura Sinagra

Fellowes's larger goal seems to be making sympathetic characters of Anne and Bule, who for all their lovey-doveyness never emerge as much more than rich twits à la "The Great Gatsby."

88

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

Watson and Everett, both superb, bring ferocity and feeling to their roles. But the one you won't forget is Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) in a towering performance of grace and grit that deserves to put him on Oscar's shortlist. Good show.

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