It's a bit of a surprise to see Emily Watson play a savvy, upper crust homemaker in "Separate Lies." Watson made an indelible impression with her performance as the tragically good, slightly simple-minded Bess in Lars Von Trier's 1996 film "Breaking The Waves." Maybe this explains why it takes a little while to accept her as impeccably dressed Ann Manning. She comes across as discontent, peevish, and yes, unflatteringly dull.
In fact, the opening scenes of Julian Fellowes' directorial debut are disappointing. Tom Wilkinson plays Ann's husband James, an extremely successful attorney. He works long hours, often missing the train to the couple's country home where his wife impatiently waits for his arrival. The Mannings are wealthy and they have excellent English manners; their story doesn't seem exactly movie worthy. Here we go again, it seems, more rich English people, but without the crumbling mansions and beautiful ball gowns we've come to expect from Jane Austen adaptations.
Patience is required. Fellowes(who wrote the screenplays for "Vanity Fair" and "Gosford Park") has created an exacting portrait of a marriage--so that he can proceed to destroy it. The irrepressible Rupert Everett hits the screen as William Bule, the handsome lothario who has also returned to the countryside. Everett, who has been relegated to sidekick roles (My Best Friend's Wedding), returns to form with a wickedly delicious performance. Nearly every line he delivers is rewarded with either a laugh or a shudder.
The story begins to churn, and suddenly, subtly, "Separate Lies" becomes an altogether different film: gripping and painful and entirely compelling. The plot hinges upon the death of a trusted servant's husband who is killed in a hit-and-run accident after a party at the Manning's. James Manning suspects Bule, but further investigation reveals that, in fact, his wife was driving Bule's car--after engaging in an adulterous affair.
From then on, you can never be sure what will come out of Watson's acid mouth. Nor can you anticipate her tight-lipped husband's reaction. Men will squirm in their seats watching Wilkinson desperately trying to make peace with his new role as a cuckold. The acting in this adult drama is uniformly superb, and it is rare that a film reveals the secret and unpalatable innards of married life so honestly.
